UOW/Rotary Club of West Wollongong John Chaplin Memorial Scholarship

The Rotary Club of West Wollongong has been working with the University of Wollongong (UOW) via the Community Scholarship program since 2005 (now some 20 years!) in assisting students meet some of their financial commitments while pursuing an under-graduate degree at the University.
 
In 2018 the Club’s members decided to honour the services of one our most distinguished members, the late John Chaplin, by conferring this scholarship in his name on an ongoing basis ... i.e. the Rotary Club of West Wollongong John Chaplin Memorial Scholarship.
 
John Chaplin’s contribution to Rotary and the wider community is well known to his family, fellow Rotarians and prominent professional and business people of the Illawarra; however, a brief outline of John and his relationship with Rotary and our community follows:

  • John was a stalwart of our Club ...having been an active member for over 43 years. He was an exceptional Rotarian, a good friend and mentor to many;

  • He served in many capacities at Club & District levels and always operated in a considered, professional and very efficient manner;

  • As well as being a Past President and Board member of this Club, he chaired and participated in numerous Club & District committees for many years;

  • John was the recipient of many recognitions/awards throughout his distinguished personal career and community service work.

  • Through Rotary he received several Paul Harris Fellow recognitions as well as a Four Avenues of Service citation ... the latter of which is an acknowledgement of his outstanding effort across the four avenues of Rotary service; namely, Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service and International Service.

  • John was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in June 1995 in recognition of service to the community and people with physical and intellectual disabilities, particularly through the Flagstaff Group.

  • John also had a highly distinguished professional career as Chief Lawyer at BHP in addition to many other interests.

  • He was a founding Director and had a long-standing affiliation with the Flagstaff Group and he was a long-term Director with the CRAM Foundation.

  • John also assisted with the establishment of Wollongong Art Gallery and was a Board member for many years.

  • He had a significant involvement and success with the archery fraternity. This included his prowess as a competitor at state and national levels, as a coach, a President and Vice-President, a judge & director of shooting at an international level, a Director on the Board of Archery Australia and he had a role in managing archery teams at several Olympic Games & was chair of Archery International.

John was a great contributor to his family, Rotary and the broader community.
 
Our current John Chapman Memorial Scholar is Nicholas Fantham.
 
Details of the Rotary Club of West Wollongong John Chaplin Memorial Scholarship including selection criteria is advertised on UOW’s Scholarships website every second year during the autumn semester.