Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

The Hon. J.S. LEE (20:14): I move:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges the 50^th anniversary of the formation of the Winston Churchill Trust in Australia in 2015;

2. Congratulates and pays tribute to the committee and volunteers at Churchill Fellows Association of South Australia for their commitment to honour Sir Winston Churchill's legacy in South Australia; and

3. Recognises the achievements of Churchill Fellows for their outstanding research and contribution to the Australian society.

It is a great honour for me to take this opportunity to pay tribute to an outstanding leader, Sir Winston Churchill, and acknowledge his incredible legacy in the form of the Churchill Memorial Trust that provides significant opportunities for many South Australians and individuals around the world.

Arguably one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20^th century, Sir Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, an historian, a writer and an artist. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature and was the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States. As British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill rallied the British people during World War II and led his country from the brink of defeat to victory. This motion serves to honour the memory of a significant political leader who, after his death, continues to bring positive benefits to Australians.

The principal purpose of the trust is to preserve and honour the memory and legacy of Sir Winston Churchill by the award of travelling fellowships, known as Churchill Fellowships. The Churchill Fellowship is a merit-based program that benefits individuals who have determination, drive and dedication in their specialised field. It does not discriminate a person by their background. There are no prescribed qualifications required in order to apply for a Churchill Fellowship. The subject of the proposed project is very broad, as long as the applicant can demonstrate that a project can deliver a benefit to Australia and a willingness to share the research findings with the Australian community is displayed.

Churchill Fellowships provide financial support to enable Australian citizens from all walks of life to travel overseas to undertake a comparative study, analysis or investigation of a project or an issue that cannot be readily undertaken in Australia for the enrichment of Australian society.

Currently, the average Fellowship fund is about $25,000 per person. Churchill Fellowships are unique, for there is no other similar study program in Australia quite like it. The awarding of the scholarship is merit based. The applicants will be selected based on past achievements or demonstrated ability for future achievement in wide-ranging sectors. Ultimately, the Churchill Fellow will return with substantial skills and knowledge from overseas, and it aims to reward proven achievement of talented and deserving Australians with further opportunity in their pursuit of excellence for the betterment of Australian society.

Let us go back in history and look at how this important trust was established. After World War II, many honours were conferred on Sir Winston Churchill from all over the world and many physical memorials were created in the form of statues and buildings. In 1962, the Duke of Edinburgh asked Sir Winston Churchill, then aged 88, what type of memorial he would like to be established in his name so that the world could remember him. The concept of a unique form of memorial to be set up after his death pleased him very much.

As a leader who embraced fairness and equal opportunities for all, Churchill suggested that something like the Rhodes Scholarship, but available to a wider selection of people. Back in those days, 50 years ago, scholars often could not afford to travel overseas because accommodation, transportation and living expenses would be very expensive. This led to the concept of travelling fellowships bearing Sir Winston Churchill's name to provide opportunities to enable ordinary people from participating countries to travel overseas to meet professionals and experts, to learn and to explore new frontiers.

The concept was developed jointly by the English-Speaking Union of the Commonwealth and of the United States. Australia was among the countries that laid plans for a nation-wide appeal on the death of Sir Winston Churchill to set up a national Churchill Trust. Although Churchill had thoroughly approved the project when it was first cleared with him by the English-Speaking Union in the 1950s, in order not to upset Sir Winston in his declining years about planning for actions, it was kept secret at Lady Churchill's request until Churchill had passed away.

The planning for the appeal to raise funds for the establishment of the Churchill Trust in Australia nevertheless continued under the codename 'operation G'—G for gratitude—under the leadership of the then councillor, later Sir William Kilpatrick. The master plan was so well executed that, immediately on Churchill's death on 24 January 1965, a nationwide appeal for funds was launched by Sir Robert Menzies with councillor Kilpatrick as the chairman of the appeal committee. There was an overwhelming response by the commonwealth and state governments and by Australian companies and individuals. The trust was established following the most successful one-day fundraising campaign in Australia's history.

The Returned and Services League brilliantly planned and executed a nationwide doorknock on Churchill Memorial Day on Sunday 28 February 1965. The very willing national response of Australia's returned servicemen in conducting what was the greatest one-day doorknock in Australian history showed the admiration and respect that the Australian fighting men and women of World War II held for Sir Winston Churchill.

On the appeal day in South Australia, 30,000 collectors called on 600,000 homes. All money collected on the day was banked on that day. Banks opened especially for the appeal day. South Australia's goal was $180,000 while, Australia-wide, the objective was $2 million. In South Australia alone, $428,000 was collected and approximately $4.5 million was collected Australia-wide. This is probably the most successful fundraising event ever in Australia, as remarkable as the man it honoured.

In fact, for those who want to think about the dollar values in pounds, the one-day doorknock raised £911,000, which is equivalent to about $1.822 million, and nation-wide, £2,206,000 was raised. In today's dollars, I was told by the trust that this figure would be in the order of about $54 million; so you can get your calculator out if you like to make sure the sum is correct.

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established to administer not only the total funds raised by the 1965 appeal but also the Churchill Fellowship award scheme. The trust has its national office at Churchill Office, Canberra. The board of directors are responsible for the management of funds invested and the conferring of Churchill Fellowships. All directors serve in an honorary capacity.

Those funds collected in 1965 were widely invested, and have enabled over 3,000 fellowships to be awarded across Australia, of which over 300 are from South Australia. Churchill Fellowships have been awarded in just about every field imaginable.

Since the first fellowships were awarded in 1966, it is recorded that more than 4,000 have been awarded nationally, with 109 fellowships being awarded nationally this year in 2015 with a value of more than $2.7 million. In the period between the Churchill trust's inception in 1965 and 2015, 359 South Australians have been awarded Churchill Fellowships.

In Australia, the trust is overseen by a national board. There is a regional committee in each state and territory that conducts the selection process, and panels all consist of volunteers. I wish to place on the record my appreciation to all the past and present presidents, chairs and committee members for their incredible contributions in serving the trust.

In South Australia, the Churchill Fellows Association of South Australia is an incorporated association run by a properly constituted management committee. The association is made up of Fellows who are passionate about their field and are prepared to share their knowledge with all Australians.

The objective and purpose of the association is to offer advice and support to applicants, mentor new Fellows and promote the common interests of Fellows and the trust. Throughout the year, the Churchill Fellows Association hosts a number of events. These platforms allow people to meet other Fellows, share their passion and develop a network with other Churchill Fellows from around Australia and across the world.

This year, on Friday 21 August, I was very privileged to be invited as a special guest to attend their 50^th anniversary dinner. The event combined an AGM where they welcomed new Fellows as well as celebrated Churchill Fellows who had achieved their 25^th anniversaries. The dinner provided me with the opportunity to meet with so many outstanding and inspiring Churchill Fellows and learn about the vast experience from the recipients of the Churchill Fellowships.

I wish to put on the record my special thanks to all the contributors and acknowledge the wonderful work of the current committee members: the regional chair in South Australia, Ms Alexandrea Cannon, who is also a member of the national board; Mr Chris Fennell, a member of the national board; Mr Graeme Adcock, president of the South Australian branch of the Winston Churchill Fellow Trust; Geoff Sauer, secretary of the SA regional committee; and Mr Peter Elder, treasurer of the SA trust.

I would also like to put the names of the committee on the record: Maxie Ashton, Brenton Banham, Julie Dini, Baohong Hou, Christine Morris, Annie O'Connel, Allison Russell, Pat Toolan, Gillan Weiss and Maria Tomasic. I would like to thank all of the committee members for supplying me with a wealth of information in my preparation for my speech today as well.

The annual dinner was an outstanding evening. It promoted the achievements of the trust over the last 50 years and highlighted the work and dedication of many Fellows. There are so many Fellows from diverse backgrounds. I have personally met so many of them and would like to mention and particularly highlight a few dynamic leaders within our community.

The first person I would like to mention is Mr Ian Tolley OAM, a citrus grower and nurseryman of Renmark who studied citriculture and problems of citrus growing in the USA and the East. Mr Tolley, based in the Riverland, operates Tolley's Nursery. After a lifetime of fieldwork and research, last year he published a book called Commonsense Citrus: a Hands-on Guide to Propagation and Planting. He has more than half a century of experience of citrus growing at all levels, and he was one of the first Churchill Fellows who was granted the scholarship. Congratulations to him.

The second worthy mention is one of the first Churchill recipients, Dr Maurice Sando OBE, Director of Anaesthesia and Respiratory Resuscitation at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Dr Sando studied intensive medical care (particularly, assisted breathing) at various hospitals around the globe, including Canada, USA, Europe and the UK. Dr Sando studied medicine at the University of Adelaide and, after working as a resident medical officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1954, travelled to England to undertake further study at St Bartholomew's Hospital in Kent. These are worthy mentions in terms of the Churchill Fellows.

As it is the year of the 50^th anniversary, I would also like to pay tribute to the 2015 Churchill Fellows. The first worthy mention is Ms Jodie Zada. I think this name probably may not ring a bell for many of you, but it certainly rings a bell for our Deputy Clerk and Black Rod, as Ms Jodie Zada is actually the wife of Chris Schwarz. I also acknowledge that Chris was also at the 50^th anniversary dinner that evening.

Jodie has been awarded a Churchill Fellowship for 2015. She will travel to the USA and Canada in April 2016 to complete her research into family inclusive practices in the mental health treatment of Defence Force members. This might also be of particular interest to the Hon. John Dawkins, with his passion for advocating for mental health issues. The other worthy mentions for the 2015 Churchill Fellowships are as follows:

Dr Marion Eckert, who will be doing a special study on a cancer survivorship monitoring tool for South Australia. Dr Marion Eckert will be travelling to Austria, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Ms Donna Mayhew will travel to the UK and Canada to investigate interagency information-sharing practice and protocols and their effect on safeguarding.

Ms Necia Mickel will investigate the role of the built and landscape environment in improving wellbeing and recovery outcomes for veterans suffering stress, including post-traumatic stress. She will be travelling to Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Canada and the USA.

Ms Penelope Griggs will investigate exceptional visual arts events that attract tourism and opportunities for local artists. She will be travelling to the UK, Austria, Spain, Italy and France.

Ms Heather Smith will be doing a robust governance structure investigation in community energy schemes. Ms Smith will be going to Japan, Germany, Denmark, the UK and the USA.

Mr Tyson Grubb will investigate the use of low-cost drones for improving environmental research with reduced funding. He will be going to China, the USA, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland and the UK.

Ms Gina Dal Santo was awarded the Churchill Fellows' Association of South Australia Fellowship to develop a national centre for cheese education, creating an artisan cheese industry. This will be looking at the USA, France and the UK.

Last but not least, Dr Edward Bullitis will investigate services and practices relevant to homeless individuals exhibiting premature ageing, something probably the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars and the Hon. Kelly Vincent will be interested to look at for our Social Development Committee.

As you can see, there is quite a wideranging field of studies and investigations. Congratulations to all of the 2015 Churchill Fellowship awardees.

In closing, I would like to say that Sir Winston Churchill was well known as a champion of freedom and civilisation. His legacy and reputation stands strong today. I am truly honoured to move this motion today in respect of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. The work of the South Australian branch of the trust has given so many meaningful opportunities to individuals and industries that truly benefit South Australia. Congratulations to all the distinguished fellows and scholars of the Churchill Memorial Trust. Happy 50^th anniversary. I wholeheartedly commend this motion to the council.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. G.A. Kandelaars.