AFTER COVID-19 delayed presentations of the CAS Hawker Scholarship in 2020, two SA recipients received their framed certificates recently at Government House.
Lilias Needham established the CAS Hawker Scholarship in memory of her late brother Charles Allan Seymour Hawker.
Valued at up to $60,000 over three years, it is one of the most generous privately-funded residential scholarships available to undergraduate and postgraduate students in Australia.
Since 1990, the Trustees have awarded more than $6 million to 132 young Australians, including a significant number from regional areas.
The three successful 2020 and the three 2021 applicants were awarded Hawker Scholarships from an Australia wide field of 223 applicants.
The two South Australian recipients, Benjamin Ransom and Oliver Douglas, were both remarkably from the same school, St John's Grammar at Belair, and both were school captains.
Oliver completed his secondary education in 2018 with an ATAR of 98.85, while Benjamin's final year ATAR was 99.75.
They are now in residence at St Mark's College and are studying at the University of Adelaide.
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2021 scholar Benjamin Ransom, Mitcham, commenced his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees this year, while 2020 recipient Oliver Douglas from Coromandel Valley commenced his Bachelor of Arts and Law degrees last year.
Mr Ransom said when he graduates, working in rural SA is on the list of possibilities.
"I originate from a family which has had a long-lasting connection to rural Australia," he said in his application.
"While my mother and her family moved from Broken Hill to Adelaide over 30 years ago, her family made significant contributions to the town and its economy through their work as miners, while also maintaining strong connections within the country town, immersing themselves in rural life through community engagements.
"On the other side, my father has worked for SAPOL for 40-plus years. As a cadet, he spent a number of years in rural towns such as Loxton and Renmark, and to this day he still retains a strong connection with the communities in these Riverland towns.
"My parents passion for community engagement is something they certainly passed down to me, as it has become an integral part of my life."
Each year, three CAS Hawker Scholarships are offered to capable students of principle and character, who are committed to Australia's future.
The scholarship perpetuates the memory and commemorates the achievements of one of Australia's most respected pastoral pioneers and politicians.
"Charles Hawker had a lasting impact on Australian politics and all members of the federal house had an enormous respect for him during his time as Australia's first Minister for Commerce in the Lyons Government in the 1930s," Trustee and CAS Hawker Scholar Dan Cregan MP said during the presentation at Government House.
"He was a great Australian who offered his best through his commitment to his country and democracy. These are values I hope the 2020 and 2021 scholarship winners take with them into their studies,"
Born on May 16, 1894, at Bungaree homestead near Clare, Charles Hawker was educated at Geelong Church of England Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge.
Student, soldier, pastoralist and statesman, Charles Hawker died in the 1938 Kyeema air disaster.
Applications for the 2022 CAS Hawker Scholarships open on December 6, with regional applicants encouraged.
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