BEATRICE ROBINSON SCHOLARSHIP
Scholarship recipients for 2010
Left to right: Chris Golding, Leigh Williams, Samuel Dow.
Leigh Williams will be visiting ‘eco-congregations’ in the UK and attending a Justice & Peace Conference on the theme ‘Our Daily Bread: Food Security, People and Planet’.
Samuel Dow will be attending the Canterbury Scholars Program for seminarians and clergy in the early years of their ministry, and exploring fresh expressions ministry to those involved in the ‘gothic’ subculture.
Chris Golding will be travelling in the United States to meet with clergy and others involved in creating and leading environmentally sustainable parishes and communities.
The Beatrice Robinson Scholarship is ...
- A scholarship to enable students to undertake creative and innovative projects in theological and/or biblical studies.
- Open to all students studying theology at St Mark’s National Theological Centre.
- Scholarship value: up to $15,000
Objectives
This scholarship is available for a suitable person to undertake special theological study and/or study of Biblical botany .
The selection panel is interested in encouraging a broad range of projects within the overall objectives.
In the light of the donor’s interests in biblical flora, projects concerned with biblical or theological research into issues of land, ecology, flora and culture would be especially welcome.
Eligibility
Students in Australia currently studying theology at St Mark’s National Theological Centre, including final year students, are eligible to apply.
There is no age restriction on applications, but the conditions of the grant give preference to younger scholars.
Terms of Award
One or more scholarships, up to a total value of $15,000, may be awarded every second year.
The scholarship(s) may be used to fund, fully or in part, the completion of the project, and may be used for such things as:
- travel and living expenses
- fees for approved courses
- conference costs
- research assistance
- other justifiable expenses
The selection panel will require a written report upon completion of the project, and acquittal of the funds disbursed.
Application process
Due date for written applications
for scholarship(s)
to be awarded in 2010 is 1 February 2010
[Please note: Interviews have been postponed from 17 Feb until a date to be advised. SB ]
Download application form [Application Form PDF 118KB]
(02) 6272 6252
History of The Scholarship
The Scholarship is the gift of Deaconess Beatrice Robinson, whose own work in Christian ministry included her commitment to the Bible Garden at Palm Beach which was founded by her father, Gerald Hercules Robinson.
Gerald Robinson was inspired to found the Bible Garden at Palm Beach following a visit to the Bible Garden at Bangor Cathedral in Wales. The garden, originally designed and planted by Gerald Robinson himself, was officially opened on March 26, 1966. It contained 143 of the plants, trees and shrubs mentioned in the Old and New Testaments. After Gerald Robinson’s death in 1972, the garden was maintained and cared for by Beatrice Robinson. She took up residence on the site, imported seeds from Israel and plants from all over Australia, and did almost all the gardening herself.
Beatrice Robinson died in 1994 and left her estate to the Bible Garden Memorial Trust. Among the provisions of her will, executed in 1974, she stipulated that at least $5,000 should be used to provide a scholarship to enable a suitable person to undertake special theological study and/or study of Biblical botany for the purpose of furthering the objectives for which the Bible Garden Memorial Trust was established.
For reasons to do with the ongoing viability of the Garden, the Trustees have now sold the residential part of the Palm Beach site and are substantially involved in the establishment of a Bible Garden on the site of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture in Canberra. The original Bible Garden at Palm Beach continues.
In order to fulfil Beatrice Robinson’s desire that part of her estate be made available to support young scholars, the Trustees have established the Beatrice Robinson Scholarship at St Mark’s National Theological Centre with an endowment of $150,000.