Afternoon Tea to Present 2019 Winston Churchill Fellowship Awards

Incoming Chair of the Queensland Regional Selection Committee, Associate Professor Richard Roylance and fellow Committee members; Patron, the Honourable Margaret White; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I at once acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we gather, and extend respectful greetings to Elders and emerging leaders.  

Kaye and I warmly welcome you to Government House for this awards presentation celebrating the 2019 Winston Churchill Fellows.

Congratulations to our wonderful Queenslanders receiving this award today. Welcome also to your families and friends celebrating this special occasion.

In the final years of Sir Winston Churchill’s life, the Duke of Edinburgh asked him what type of memorial he would like so that the world could remember him.

In keeping with Sir Winston’s enquiring spirit, he said that he would like something akin to the Rhodes Scholarship, but available to more people on a wider basis.

Following his death, the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established and the Churchill Fellowships were born. That was 1965.  

We can only speculate where Sir Winston’s mind may have been in wanting this as his legacy – perhaps his experience travelling as a young man influenced his life and he wanted to provide that experience to others.

In many ways, travelling is an enriching experience. It broadens our experience and understanding of the world connecting us to different people and points of view.

While today we can research and find information about far-off places easily through the internet, there is nothing like standing in Piccadilly Circus or shopping in the Grand Bazaar or walking along the Bund for the first time.

And while our Fellows may not be travelling purely for pleasure in this instance, your research and projects will certainly benefit from time abroad. Who knows, a breakthrough or leap in understanding may be just around the corner for you!

So to our Fellows receiving awards today, congratulations again. I hope that this Fellowship and travel will lead you on to explore your subjects more deeply, to connect with people from around the world, to expand your horizons and to even discover new perspectives.

Enjoy this experience and consider how this Fellowship carries with it the great legacy and memory of Sir Winston Churchill.

I thank the Queensland Regional Selection Committee and all supporters of the Trust – your support guarantees this wonderful initiative.

Please, to everyone here today, enjoy the hospitality for which Government House is famous. Kaye and I look forward to meeting you and your families and friends throughout the afternoon. Thank you.