Business Manager Brian Hardy takes guests at the launch of the Campaign on a tour of the building site.

The view south from the Southern Development site.

Development dream turning into a reality

The major focus so far this year has revolved around the construction of the Southern Development. Our project managers Gallagher Jeffs, our architects FMSA and our builder the APM Group along with our other consultants have been working hard to turn the dream of the Southern Development into a reality.

We had a less than auspicious start when we lost 19 days in just getting access to the site due to road works closing Morrison Close, our only access to the site. However, since that time the only delays we have struck have been weather-related and, given the drought, we are not complaining about any rain that falls.

Now, all the floors have been poured and the roof is being installed. After that comes the external cladding and internal fit-out. We hope that the building will be handed over some time in November, after which we need to undertake landscaping works in the back quadrangle and get the building furnished and ready for the 2008 intake of students.

As our security around the College improves, thieves seem to find new things to steal. A recent problem has been with bike thefts. Cheap bikes they leave, expensive bikes they take. One feature of the Southern Development is the provision of 16 bike lockers of the type you see on some railway stations. We also have taken the opportunity to put a further six of these lockers in the gap between the back of the kitchen and D Block.

Planning is well advanced on capital works that will be conducted around the College during the next Christmas break. Final approvals are still required from the College Council but the work as currently planned will involve a major refurbishment of B Block, the extension of the electronic RFID locking system which we installed in EF&G Block last year to other accommodation blocks, and a further improvement to surprise the returning students at the start of next year.

Awards of Scholarships and Bursaries in 2007 have been at record high levels. This was due to two factors. On the bursary front, the impact of the drought on farming families and other families from these regions continued to increase and we provided bursary assistance totalling some $80,000 to assist 24 of our residents.

The growth in scholarships was driven by a significant improvement in the academic results being achieved by our residents. The best example of this occurred in the Miller Exhibition Scholarship. These are worth $2750 each and are awarded to second year students with an average better than 77. In 2006, six of our residents qualified for this scholarship award. In 2007, sixteen residents qualified. Overall 46 students were awarded scholarships of a total value of $173,000.

In total, counting the three Prize awards as well as the Bursaries and the Scholarships, a total of 73 financial awards have been made in our community of l77 residents.

Brian Hardy, Business Manager