Sir James Fletcher 1st Memorial Trust
Tertiary Education Grants

On 22 March 1988, the Deeds of the Sir James Fletcher 1st Memorial Trust were signed. This action again publicly acknowledged the special commitment made by Sir James Fletcher 1st to the Tuwharetoa residents of Onepu and the Pahipoto landowners of the mill site registered in 1953 who were affected by the establishment of the Tasman Mill.

The purpose of this Trust is to provide annual Tertiary Education Grants to encourage the development and personal potential through education for the descendants of these families.

Financial grants made by the Trust are designed to recognise and assist applicants who through their past efforts have demonstrated a potential to progress further in a particular field of endeavour. Grants are restricted to the field of formal tertiary education, but may also recognise special qualities displayed in the cultural, creative arts, self-improvement, or leadership fields. Special grants may be made to those studying for degrees in the fields of sciences, engineering and management.

The Trust is pleased that the original commitment made to the local community has been reinforced and wishes to encourage any person who fits the criteria for eligibility to apply.

Applications for this grant have closed for 2010 and grants have been distributed.  For further information please contact Kelly Hauraki on 07 323 7377,  or P.O. Box 119, Kawerau 3169.  

Awards Ceremony for 2010 Recipients

This year the Awards Ceremony was held at Kokohinau Marae. After the powhiri we were welcomed into the whare kai for a delicious Hakari prepared by the marae.  Once we finished our meal, we moved into the wharenui for the awards presentations.

All the Trustees and special guests were introduced by Chris Marjoribanks, the Chairman of the Trust.  The special guests were Angus Fletcher, representing the Fletcher Trust, and Ernie Hacker, representing Norske Skog Tasman.

A special presentation of flowers was made to Priscilla Hunia, wife of the late John Hunia in recognition of the great contribution he had made to the trust in past years.

The Ceremony started with presentations for the General Awards.  There were 81 recipients of this award. A short bio was read out for each recipient on the course/degree they were studying towards, and which year of the course they were on.  Then the presentations for the Business Prospect Awards were presented, of which there were 6 recipients.  Finally the Business Awards were presented. There were 4 recipients. 

Lauren Assink replied on behalf of the recipients for the 2010 Awards with an insightful speech.

The evening was much enjoyed by all and it was a great turn out given that a lot of the recipients study outside of the Bay of Plenty.

This year we had the most applications ever received in excess of 100 applications.  For this reason incomplete applications in future may not be successful, so please ensure you take the time to fill out your application correctly and have the required documentation attached.