New scholarships at Lincoln are being generously funded by farming families with long histories, recognising the value of education and research in the agricultural sector.
The BK Otway Education Foundation has funded an undergraduate scholarship and doctoral scholarship while the Burnett Trust has established a research scholarship.
The undergraduate scholarship is available to students who are entering their second year of full time study towards a Bachelor of Agriculture or Commerce (Horticulture), or Viticulture and Oenology, or a Diploma in Farm Management or Horticultural Management at Lincoln University.
The doctoral scholarship, with a $35,000 stipend plus tuition fees, supports postgraduate research in the area of sustainable land management in agriculture or horticulture for the benefit of New Zealand.
Brian (BT) Otway was a passionate farmer until his death in 2018, at 91, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.
During World War II, he trained as a pilot with the RNZAF. In 1946, he attended Lincoln College to complete a Diploma of Agriculture where he also played for first XV rugby team until 1948.
Three of Brian’s children also attended Lincoln College, studying programmes in agriculture and horticulture
Brian farmed from the late 1940s after purchasing a gorse and scrub infested block of land in the Te Arai district working hard to transform it, and nearby properties ( as a contractor), into highly productive sheep and cattle farms that also supported large tracts of native bush.
After selling these properties in early 2000, he continued in his eighties, with the help of his youngest son, to develop a rundown farm near Kerikeri, still operating his beloved bulldozer.
He believed in the importance of education and believed everyone should have the opportunity to access it.
In 2009, he established a charitable trust known as the BK Otway Education Foundation and on his death, a significant part of his estate was left to it.
The Burnett Trust’s research scholarship support a student undertaking research with a science focus that would benefit agricultural science in New Zealand.
Donald (DMC) and his sister, Catriona (CMB) Burnett, were the last surviving family members of the well-known and highly respected Burnett family of Mt Cook Station.
Their forebears purchased the Station in 1864 and through subsequent generations, their family have continued as innovative and visionary farmers.
Donald was passionate about Merino wool, and in 2000, won the World’s Leading Merino Wool Grower Award, producing the world’s finest bale of wool. This 100kg bale of 13.1-micron merino wool sold to an Italian textile company for $120,000.
Donald and Catriona were also widely respected in the Mackenzie District for philanthropy, leadership and public service. Together they established the DMC and CMB Burnett Charitable Trust in 1996, to provide funding for worthy causes in the community.
Donald died in 2010 and Catriona in 2014.
To apply for the scholarships click on the links below:
BK Otway Education Foundation undergraduate scholarship and PhD scholarship
https://www.lincoln.ac.nz/Study/Qualifications/Qualification/scholarships/?q=otway
Closing dates 1 March
Burnett Research Scholarship
https://www.lincoln.ac.nz/Study/Qualifications/Qualification/scholarships/?q=burnet
Closing date 31 March