Three New C.A.S. Hawker Scholarships Awarded

The 2023 scholars are studying a wide range of courses including Law, Philosophy, Politics, Economics, Arts, and International Relations. The 2023 recipients are from Adelaide, South East Queensland and Melbourne.

Family, friends, college and school representatives, current scholars, members of the C.A.S. Hawker Alumni, and C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship Trustees will attend the Government House event this afternoon.

Miss Hannah BENHASSINE is from Burwood in Victoria. She studied at Melbourne Girls’ College. Hannah is enrolled in a double degree of Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of International Relations at the ANU in Canberra. Hannah is residing at Burgmann College.

Mr. Finn BOYLEN is from Adelaide. Finn attended Pulteney Grammar School and is studying a double degree of Bachelor of Philosophy, Politics and Economics and a Bachelor of Arts with an International Relations major. He is enrolled at the ANU in Canberra and is residing at Burgmann College.

Mr. Charley ELLWOOD is from Paradise Point on the Gold Coast in Queensland. He graduated from A B Paterson College in 2022. Charley is studying a Bachelor of Philosophy, Politics and Economics degree at the ANU in Canberra and is in residence at Burgmann College.

2020 C.A.S. Hawker Scholar Mr. Oliver DOUGLAS has been awarded a one-year extension to allow him to continue to reside at St Mark’s College and complete his Honours in History.

“I congratulate all the Charles Hawker scholarship winners. Through their studies and community involvement, they have already demonstrated a strong commitment to following the footsteps of C.A.S. Hawker,” Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC said.

“Charles Hawker had a lasting impact on Australian politics. 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,” Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly, Trustee and former C.A.S. Hawker Scholar the Honourable Dan Cregan MP said.

“He was a great Australian who offered his best through his commitment to his country and democracy. These are values I hope the 2023 scholarship winners take with them into their studies,” he said.

The late Mrs. Lilias Needham established the Charles Hawker Scholarship in memory of her brother Charles Allan Seymour Hawker.

Since 1990, the Trustees have awarded more than seven million dollars to 139 young Australians, including a significant number from regional areas. The successful 2023 applicants were awarded scholarships from an Australia-wide field of 85 applicants.

Each year the C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship Trustees offer a number of scholarships 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.

Born on May 16^th 1894 at Bungaree homestead near Clare in South Australia, Charles Hawker was educated at Geelong Church of England Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge. Student, soldier, pastoralist and statesman Charles Allan Seymour Hawker died in the Kyeema air disaster on October 25^th, 1938.

“He was recognised for his loyalty, integrity, and caring for his community. Had he not been killed in the Kyeema air disaster in 1938, he may have been Australia’s wartime and South Australia’s first Prime Minister. The scholarship Trustees hope the Charles Hawker story will prove to be an inspiration for the 2023 scholars. When faced with difficult decisions in the future, I hope the 2023 scholars will ask themselves, ‘what would Charles Hawker do,” Chair of the C.A.S. Scholarship Trustees Mr. Andrew Hawker said.

Undergraduate and postgraduate Hawker Scholars can attend a range of educational institutions including the Australian National, Adelaide, Flinders, South Australia and New England Universities, and Marcus Oldham College.

Postgraduate Charles Hawker Scholars are also able to follow in Charles Hawker’s footsteps by studying at the University of Cambridge UK.

“C.A.S. Hawker was a truly remarkable man and a great Australian. This scholarship is a fitting tribute to his memory and each of these scholars is a much-deserved recipient,” Andrew Hawker said.

Selection is based on personal qualities as well as academic ability. Applications for the 2024 Charles Hawker Scholarships open on December 4, 2023 and close on January 5, 2024.

An application form and further information are available from the scholarship website www.hawkerscholarship.org or by contacting the secretary to the Trustees.

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