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Aspiring scholars sought for public access scholarship

Published 2 October 2015

Applications are being sought for a $5,000 scholarship that will support study into public access to the outdoors and New Zealand's farming heritage.

Launched in 2014, the John H Aspinall Scholarship is named after the late John (Henry) Aspinall – a highly respected South Island farming leader who passed away in 2011 at the age of 60.

The scholarship has been made possible through a partnership between the Aspinall family and the New Zealand Walking Access Commission. It is managed by Universities New Zealand on behalf of the Commission. Scholarship applicants must be currently enrolled, either full time or part time, in an Honours, Masters or Doctoral programme at a New Zealand university.

Commission chairman John Forbes said the scholarship celebrates Mr Aspinall's enthusiasm for farming, the land, and access of the outdoors as part of the New Zealand way of life. It also supports the idea of 'linking New Zealand', which Mr Aspinall strongly believed in.

“John was very keen to ensure that other New Zealanders were able to enjoy rural life as he did. The scholarship provides the opportunity for a student to study a topic that will encourage a greater understanding of the value of developing better relationships between urban and rural New Zealand.â€