Otaki scholar in Christchurch
By SARONA IOSEFA The forty-fifth Otaki scholar from Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen sat sipping tea and eating sandwiches after being welcomed by the Mayor of Christchurch, Sir Hamish Hay, yesterday. Michael Stewart, aged 18, head boy of Robert Gordon’s College, travelled to New Zealand from the United Kingdom by container ship, working as one of the crew. It is traditional that Otaki scholars travel to New Zealand and back by sea.
The scholarship commemorates the sea battle between the New Zealand Shipping Company vessel Otaki and the German raider Moewe in World War I.
In spite of the Moewe’s superior armament, the Otaki put up a valiant fight which won her captain, Lieutenant BissettSmith, a posthumous Victoria Cross. He went down with his ship after ordering his rpen into lifeboats. Captain Bissett-Smith, who attended Robert Gordon’s College, is remembered by an annual scholarship for a pupil who has proved pre-emi-nent in character, leadership and athletics. The New Zealand Ship-
ping Company added to this by offering Otaki scholars a free return passage to New Zealand.
The New Zealand Government also stepped in to provide free transport and accommodation in New Zealand to the scholar. Michael Stewart has been a guest of the Government since he arrived in New Zealand. He has visited Timaru, Dunedin, and Queenstown, where he was treated to whitewater rafting and a helicopter flight over The Remarkables.
“It has been an amazing trip, because I have seen so much in so little time. I especially enjoyed Queenstown, but I am sure there will be a lot more to see,” Michael Stewart said.
He will be welcomed by St Andrew’s College at a special assembly this morning, where the college pipe band will provide a fanfare in his honour.
He will leave for Otaki, near Wellington, on Saturday, and continue to Wanganui and then Wellington before departing from Auckland by ship on July 31.
He will attend University College, Oxford, in October to read geology.
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Bibliographic details
Press, 22 July 1988, Page 4
Word Count
332Otaki scholar in Christchurch Press, 22 July 1988, Page 4
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