Published Wednesday, 04 April, 2007 at 08:00 AM
Minister for Environment and Multiculturalism
The Honourable Lindy Nelson-Carr
SCHOLARSHIP TO UNLOCK FRASER ISLAND’S SECRETS
A new scholarship program to support scientific research and to honour soil scientist Cliff Thompson’s contribution to the Fraser Island World Heritage Area (FIWHA) will be launched this month.
Environment Minister Lindy Nelson-Carr said the Cliff Thompson Memorial Scholarship program would award $10,000 each year to a post-graduate project of one to five years’ duration to support research related to the FIWHA.
“The scholarship will help encourage and support further scientific research that adds value and contributes to improved management of Fraser Island,” she said.
Member for Hervey Bay Andrew McNamara said Cliff Thompson was a pioneer of soil science.
“He worked extensively around Australia and his research on the Cooloola dunes is recognised world-wide,” Ms McNamara said.
“Mr Thompson had the ability to take you across the sand dunes of the Great Sandy region and describe in detail 700,000 years of geological history with a rare passion and intensity.
“To be a part of this experience would have been a true delight and privilege.
“Even in retirement, Mr Thompson continued his work and was influential in the establishment of Fraser Island as a World Heritage Area in 1992, and in the development and management of the Cooloola section of Great Sandy National Park.”
Ms Nelson-Carr said by offering the scholarship, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Fraser Island Scientific Advisory Committee, of which Cliff Thompson was a member, hoped to see more research being undertaken to unlock the secrets of this remarkable and still largely unknown island.
The Cliff Thompson Memorial Scholarship will be advertised in April 2007 on the EPA website www.epa.qld.gov.au and in academic newsletters.
Media contact: Karla Steen 3336 8004 or Mr McNamara on 4124 1386
Environment Minister Lindy Nelson-Carr said the Cliff Thompson Memorial Scholarship program would award $10,000 each year to a post-graduate project of one to five years’ duration to support research related to the FIWHA.
“The scholarship will help encourage and support further scientific research that adds value and contributes to improved management of Fraser Island,” she said.
Member for Hervey Bay Andrew McNamara said Cliff Thompson was a pioneer of soil science.
“He worked extensively around Australia and his research on the Cooloola dunes is recognised world-wide,” Ms McNamara said.
“Mr Thompson had the ability to take you across the sand dunes of the Great Sandy region and describe in detail 700,000 years of geological history with a rare passion and intensity.
“To be a part of this experience would have been a true delight and privilege.
“Even in retirement, Mr Thompson continued his work and was influential in the establishment of Fraser Island as a World Heritage Area in 1992, and in the development and management of the Cooloola section of Great Sandy National Park.”
Ms Nelson-Carr said by offering the scholarship, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Fraser Island Scientific Advisory Committee, of which Cliff Thompson was a member, hoped to see more research being undertaken to unlock the secrets of this remarkable and still largely unknown island.
The Cliff Thompson Memorial Scholarship will be advertised in April 2007 on the EPA website www.epa.qld.gov.au and in academic newsletters.
Media contact: Karla Steen 3336 8004 or Mr McNamara on 4124 1386