Celebrating 40 years of students and giving

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Tags: summer-2012

Alfred and Olivea Wynne
Memorial Scholarship – 40th Anniversary

An article published in the Maryborough Chronicle on August 16 1932 cites Alfred Wynne as “one of the best-known of townsmen” and a man who has “interested himself in instrumental and operatic movements in the city.”

The admiring article was written to recognise Mr Alfred Wynne and his wife Olivea opening the rural town of Maryborough’s first fully operating radio station, conveniently located in their living room on Upper Kent Street, about a mile from the town’s centre. For Maryborough, the Wynne’s gift of communication, culture, entertainment and news allowed residents to connect with capital cities around the country.

Throughout their lives, the Wynnes stayed committed to Maryborough, and realising the significant distance and financial difficulties for their town’s young people in pursuing academia, the couple saw another opportunity to give through a gift of education.

Prior to their passing, the couple established the Alfred and Olivea Wynne Memorial Scholarship at UQ. The initial gift in 1972 of $200,000 defined two specific requirements: awarded students must demonstrate financial need to study; and they must be from the Maryborough region, specifically within 65km of the Post Office.

Now in its 40th year, the endowment has grown to more than $1.4 million and helped more than 600 students attend UQ. Scholarship recipients include teachers, occupational therapists, doctors, engineers, eco-scientists, nurses and, in some cases, multiple students from the same family.

One of those families is the Monsours. All three Monsour children – Bruce who graduated in 1980 and twins, Diane and Michael who graduated in 1979 and 1975 respectively – were awarded the scholarship for each year of study. All earned a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery and throughout their career have practised in Maryborough.

“In the 1970s, the financial burden on middle-class country students was such that only three students from my entire class went to university. The financial help given to my family meant that we could really concentrate on our studies,” Dr Michael Monsour said.

“Our parents wanted us to have the advantage of education which they had not received,” Dr Diane Monsour said.
Still working as General Practitioners, all three acknowledge the challenges facing students from provincial areas, and the importance for rural students to be afforded the same opportunities as those from metropolitan areas.

More recently, for alumnus Trent MacDonald, who completed a Bachelor of Business in 2009 and a Bachelor of Economics with First Class Honours in 2010, and Megan Van Der Valk, who is currently studying Occupational Therapy, the scholarships came as a great financial relief.

“Simply put, there is little opportunity for young people who stay in Maryborough, while the opportunities for personal growth and educational attainment available at UQ are immense,” Mr MacDonald said.

Now working towards a PhD at UQ, he says he hopes to help build the endowment and promote the scholarship to students in the Maryborough area.

“I’ve relied heavily on this scholarship and without it would not be able to study full-time,” Ms Van Der Valk said.

“My long-term goal is to work in paediatrics and to eventually open my own practice providing free therapy services for children whose parents are unable to afford private therapy,” she said.

UQ is committed to growing the endowment fund. To make a gift, please contact us at giving@uq.edu.au

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