Harold Plant Memorial Prize at the University of Queensland, Australia 2023

Application is now open for the Harold Plant Memorial Prize at the University of Queensland. Interested candidates are urged to send their applications in before the deadline date.

About the University of Queensland and Scholarship

In Queensland, the initial plans for a university date back to the 1870s. In 1874, a Royal Commission headed by Sir Charles Lilley proposed establishing a university. In an economy dominated by primary industries, those opposed to a university argued that technical education—rather than academic education—was more important. In response to this opposition, those who supported the university distanced themselves from Oxford and Cambridge and proposed an alternative plan that was based on the mid-western states of the United States of America.

Five faculties should be included in a new university, according to advice from a second Royal Commission in 1891: arts, law, medicine, science, and applied science. Budgets for education in Queensland were frequently given a low priority, even though basic education was more crucial than secondary and vocational education in a colony with a literacy rate of 57% in 1861. The government was reluctant to invest money in the establishment of a university, notwithstanding the recommendations of the Royal Commission.

To increase community support for a university in Queensland, a group of private individuals established the Queensland University Extension Movement in 1893. They conducted public lecture courses for adult education. In 1894, 245 students attended the extended sessions, and the lectures were praised for being helpful and practical.

The University Congress was put on by the University Extension Movement in 1906 as a venue for interested delegates to further the idea of a university. A draft bill creating a Queensland University was drafted, and a fund was established. The relevance of a university degree to Queensland’s economy and its practical aspects were underlined. The Congress proceedings were transmitted to Premier [of Queensland] Kidston. Sixty acres in Victoria Park were gazetted for university use in October 1906. On the 50th anniversary of Queensland’s independence from the colony of New South Wales, an Act of State Parliament created the University of Queensland on December 10, 1909. 

The Act established a senate of 20 men to oversee the university, and Sir William MacGregor, the incoming Governor, was designated the first chancellor, with RH Roe as vice-chancellor. Following the governor’s departure to the Bardon mansion, Fernberg…, Old Government House… [formerly Government House] in George Street was set aside for the university, generating the first arguments regarding the ideal location for the institution.

The first teaching faculties were established in 1910. Engineering, Classics, Mathematics, and Chemistry were among them. The Senate named the first four professors in December of the same year: BD Steele in chemistry, JL Michie in classics, H. Priestley in mathematics, and A Gibson in engineering. The first students enrolled in 1911.

The Queensland Branch of the British Medical Association created the Harold Plant Memorial Prize in 1941 with the help of a $400 bequest Colonel C. F. Plant gave in 1918 (and the revenue that has grown from it) in honor of his late son, Harold Plant.

Details about the Harold Plant Memorial Prize at the University of Queensland:

Scholarship Sponsor: University of Queensland, Australia

Scholarship Value: At least $450

Number of awards: 1

Study level: Postgraduate

Host Institution(s): University of Queensland, Australia

Enrolment Status: Current UQ student

Eligibility Criteria for the Harold Plant Memorial Prize

Candidates are advised to meet the following requirements to be qualified for the Harold Plant Memorial Prize at the University of Queensland:

• A permanent resident, human rights visa holder, or citizen of Australia
• Finishing an MD or MBBS program.

Selection Criteria

The institution considers:

• Academic accomplishment in your curriculum to date; a high level of morals and community service; enjoyment of and success in athletics among students.

Application Process for Harold Plant Memorial Prize

Log in or register for the Harold Plant Memorial Prize here. You’ll need: 

• resumé
• personal statement
• any other documentation applicable to the selection standards.

Use these tips for putting together a great application to help you through this method.

Rules

Harold Plant Prize Rules (PDF, 98.68 KB)

The Submission Deadline is: 24 September 2023

Not interested in this particular scholarship? See other Australia scholarships here.