A former metallurgist, who donated $190,000 to the University of Queensland in scholarships between 1986 and 1994, has bequeathed the University $387,200 to provide educational opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island students.
During almost 30 years working in mines in Malaya, Ghana and Nigeria, Noel Hammon, who died in February 1996, was deeply impressed with the determination of the indigenous people.
That impression remained with Mr Hammon long after his retirement in 1965 and resulted in the RN Hammon Scholarship to provide assistance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island students to undertake post secondary study in Queensland.
Administered by the University of Queensland, the scholarship is open to students who have completed their first year of study at either the University, Queensland University of Technology, the University of Southern Queensland, the University of Central Queensland and Queensland Colleges of TAFE.
The preferred fields of study are science, engineering, medicine, dentistry, architecture, agriculture and veterinary science.
A science graduate from Melbourne University, Mr Hammon worked in the mining industry in Mount Isa, Western Australia and Broken Hill before joining a Malayan gold mining company in 1938.
He returned to Australia in 1940 to enlist in the army but spent the war years in European prisoner of war camps after being captured at Tobruk.
The scholarship was first awarded in 1988 to three students including University of Queensland fourth-year medical student Christine Woolgar.
A total of 36 scholarships, 23 awarded to University of Queensland students, have been granted to date.
Business student Richard Newbury said without the scholarship, which he was first awarded in 1993, he would 'not have survived'.
'I had two children at home when I started my studies and the scholarship provided money for essential items including a computer and textbooks. It always seemed to arrive just when I needed it,' he said.
Mr Newbury said he would complete his bachelor of business this year and was now interested in marketing.
'I originally thought I would go back to the Kimberley region and manage a cattle property but the more you learn the more you realise opportunities available.'
Human Movement Studies PhD student Kym Wimbis is another student grateful for the financial support of the scholarship.
'When I enrolled in 1991 I knew nothing about it (the scholarship) but about two years ago someone in the Department suggested I could be eligible,' he said.
'It's not something you can live on but it is a reserve that is there when you most need it.
'It also encourages you to keep your grades up because they are quite stringent about that.'
Mr Wimbis said sport had been a regular part of life while growing up in the small rural town of Gin Gin, near Bundaberg.
'I always did well in physical education at school, and in English, and I have a fairly sporty background,' he said.
Mr Wimbis' PhD will look at the use of exercise in the management of overweight and obese people.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit director Michael Williams said the scholarships provided a wonderful opportunity for many students.
'Scholarships like these and the interest and compassion shown by people like Mr Hammon should be recognised by both the recipients and those interested in education,' he said.
Mr Hammon also bequeathed large sums to the Queensland Cancer Fund and the Legacy Club.
For more information contact Michael Williams on (telephone 07 3365 6733)
