The University of Western Australia was founded on the bold vision and generosity of Sir John Winthrop Hackett more than 100 years ago. Since then, many individuals and organisations have followed in his footsteps, all playing a crucial role in shaping UWA into the world-class institution it is today.
By investing in UWA, our benefactors have supported more than 100,000 graduates to believe in themselves and go out into local and global communities as leaders of positive change. They have fuelled the drive and imagination of thousands of researchers and made UWA’s continued success possible. Their stories are inspiring and heart-warming.
In celebration of the outstanding contribution of the University’s significant donors, UWA launched its Benefactor Wall in 2015, located opposite the entrance to Winthrop Hall and under the arches of the Vice-Chancellery.
Major Benefactors of the University
The University of Western Australia acknowledges the generosity of the following significant donors on the Benefactor Wall:
- Sir John Winthrop Hackett
Robert Gledden
Athelstan Saw
Carnegie Corporation
David Bunny
James and Ellen Withnell
Boans
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Hubert and Frances Whitfeld
Mary Raine
Wellcome Trust
Cuming Smith and Mount Lyell Farmers Fertilisers
William McGillivray
Nuffield Foundation
Frederick Hadley
Ernest and Evelyn Havill Shacklock
Grain Pool of WA
Sir Edward and Lady Beatrice Lefroy
Western Mining Corporation
Muscular Dystrophy Research Association of WA
Sir Thomas Wardle
Paul Sobotka
George Milne
Frieda Neumann
Alvina King
William Craig
Ted Rischbieth
Albert Gild
Joe and Rose Skinner
Ada Bartholomew
Sir Anthony and Lady Callista Lefroy
Eileen Joyce
William Nelson
Patrick Healy
Edith Gordon
Vermilion Oil and Gas Australia Pty Ltd
Mr Gordon McLaren
National Geographic Society
Diabetes Research WA
- Lancelot Prior
Lions Save-Sight Foundation WA
Julian and Irena Alter
Geoffrey Robinson
Westpac Banking Corporation
Lawrence Wilson
Wanda and Zygmunt Horawicz
Lord Alistair McAlpine
Sigurd Ohman
Robert and Janet Holmes à Court
Edith Tattersall
Sir Eric Smart
AMP Society
Albert Maller
Christopher Vargovic
Variety – the Children’s Charity of WA
Jean Rogerson
Woodside
Ronald and Catherine Berndt
Frank Gamblen
North West Shelf Venture
The Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation
Cassamarca Foundation
Cancer Council WA
Harold Schenberg
Haruhisa Handa
John Matthews
James Trevelyan and Samina Yasmeen
James and Terri Zadko Family
Arthur Finn
Leah Cohen
John Harriott
Margaret Loman-Hall
Wesfarmers
Brettney and Annie Fogarty, Fogarty Foundation
Snowdome Foundation
The Royal Society of Western Australia
The Van Der Walt Family
Gregory and Nicolet King
- Sir James and Lady Sheila Cruthers
Brightspark Foundation
Jean Kahan
Alcoa of Australia
Eileen Jenkins
David Newby
The University Club
Harold and Margaret Clough
BHP Billiton
Chevron Australia
Edith Cockell
John Elsey
Clough
Muriel Horsfall
Charles Morgan
William and Marlene Schrader Trust
John Jackson
Monadelphous Group
Lloyd’s Register Foundation
Goodeve Foundation
Marjorie Le Souef
Robert Telford
Michael Chaney
Kimberley Foundation Australia
Jack and Eleanor Bendat, Bendat Family Foundation
Rio Tinto
Lotterywest
Channel 7 Telethon Trust
Jim Buckee
Committee for Perth
Jean Callander
Joyce Chapple
Reta Thornton
Andrew and Nicola Forrest, Minderoo Foundation
Gregory Poche and Kay van Norton Poche
Shell Australia
Dr Boon Tock Lim and Family
Mrs Patricia Farrant AM
Australian Rotary Health
Lions Eye Institute
- Royal Perth Hospital Medical Research Foundation
JDRF Australia
Jack Tiddy
Mary Dillon
Mannkal Economic Education Foundation
Malcolm, Carolyn and Tonya McCusker, McCusker Charitable Foundation
Iluka Resources
Ernst and Young
UWA Centenary Trust for Women
UWA Geoscience Foundation
Teach Green Charitable Foundation
Fugro
Trevor and Judy Eastwood
Ron and Lynette Kinnersly
Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation
Frankie Jessie Embleton Treatt
Alcoa Foundation
The McNamara Family
Glen Robertson
Women and Infants Research Foundation
The Law Society of WA
Mitsubishi Development
Verna Rowbotham
Arthritis and Osteoporosis WA
Korea Foundation
Harry Leaver
National Breast Cancer Foundation
Heart Foundation WA
The Packard Humanities Institute
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
- Perth Children's Hospital Foundation
Fiona Wood Foundation
Adrian and Michela Fini
Clinipath Pathology
David and Coral Mack
Stan and Jean Perron
Cancer Research Trust
Jock Clough Marine Foundation
Dick and Pip Smith Foundation
Margaret McPhee
Friends of Breast Cancer Research
Spinnaker Health Research Foundation
MSWA
Rose Marie and Robert Vojakovic, Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia
Ron and Peggy Bell Family Legacy
Bruce and Betty Green
Bankwest Foundation
Giumelli Family Foundation
Peter Harrison
John Drabble
St Catherine's College
Sylvia and Charles Viertel Charitable Foundation
George Roy Haslam (Mick) Wright
Muscular Dystrophy Association of America
Leon and Merab Tauman
Ian Potter Foundation
Beyond Blue
Australian Cancer Research Foundation
Colin Eldridge
John Rodgers
Dr Albert Arcus
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Virtue Australia Foundation
Peter Djura
Merle Smith (Dunlop)
Gordon Dunlop
Benefactor Wall Celebrations
Thursday 27 April 2023
Our most recent celebration welcomed over a dozen supporters to the benefactor wall, commemorating their gift for generations to come. With just under 200 individuals and organizations, the celebration was a warm reminder of the generosity of our community, and its continual support in advancing tertiary education and research at UWA.
Tuesday 12 September 2017
Wednesday 30 March 2016
Wednesday 6 May 2015
The Launch of UWA's Benefactor Wall
On Wednesday 6 May 2015, The University of Western Australia held a commemorative event to acknowledge the foresight and remarkable support of the University’s significant donors.
Benefactor Stories
Life rich in opportunities founded on UWA education
In 2012 Bob Telford left in excess of $6 million to his beloved university.
Bob’s final gift to UWA was a true recognition of the life of opportunities that came from his UWA degree, and his bequest will have a significant impact on the establishment of EZONE UWA.
Through the generosity of people like Bob Telford, EZONE UWA will allow the engineers of tomorrow to study and work with the best minds from other disciplines to develop ways of managing precious resources, curing disease and building liveable cities.
“He had an appreciation of where he came from. He also had an appreciation of the education he received, but more so of the times he spent at UWA,” says Linton Lethlean, executor of Bob’s estate.
Bob had a passion for travel and he was keen to help others. During his lifetime, the engineer paid for the schooling of his friends’ children to give them a solid foundation in life.
Bob’s engineering studies were cut short by the outbreak of World War II and he only completed his degree at UWA after the war had ended, graduating in 1947. In leaving a bequest to his university, Bob’s visionary support will provide the leaders of tomorrow the opportunity to flourish with a UWA engineering education, just as he did.
UWA is pleased to honour Mr Bob Telford’s generosity by listing him on the Benefactor Wall.
Frontier space research supported by donors
James Zadko is known for his exploratory nature, having spent the majority of his adult life in the oil and gas industry around the globe. His passion for exploration, however, extends far beyond our planetary boundaries.
“Growing up in Canada, we had a lot of time to look at the night sky with no city lights. We grew up with the Gemini and Apollo projects which we watched circle the Earth over the years. I was hooked from as early as I can recall,” says James.
When the petroleum engineering expert heard about UWA’s study of the transient universe, uncharted skies and the tracking of hazardous asteroids, he was keen to become involved.
Through the Zadko family’s generous donation, UWA was able to purchase the Zadko Telescope, the largest of its kind in Western Australia when it was installed at a purpose-built facility in Gingin in 2008.
“The Zadko Telescope has provided a unique and valuable resource for local and international student training in research. The facility has become recognised internationally for its contribution to frontier research projects in space science and astronomy,” says Associate Professor David Coward, who leads the Zadko project.
UWA is pleased to be able to honour the Zadko family’s commitment to space exploration on the Benefactor Wall.
Innovator supports life-changing research
“Jack wasn’t fortunate enough to attend university, but he was a skilled, self-taught engineer and designer with an agile brain,” says Max Slater of his cousin, Jack Tiddy.
A health inspector for his local council, Jack loved the land and followed in his pioneering family’s footsteps as a farm owner. He also loved the water and would swim for hours at his local beach.
Jack chose to invest in combatting diseases that impacted those he was close to: Jack’s wife, Doreen, lost her battle with cancer and her brother died of kidney disease.
Because of his love of learning, UWA was the beneficiary of Jack’s generosity. But it is people like cancer patient, Dr Leonie Valentine, whose lives really changed through Jack’s foresight.
“When somebody tells you that you have cancer, your whole life changes. I feel incredibly lucky that I’m being treated with some of the best medicine that we have, it’s at the cutting edge of medical research.
“At UWA, they’re looking at the next steps of the treatments so some I’m getting are still being trialled, but they will become standard practice. You only get that from people actively involved in research.” says Leonie.
Max and his wife, Barbara, are pleased that Jack will be recognised for his contribution to UWA through the Benefactor Wall.
“We know he would not have sought recognition for his gift, but we are proud to see it used to advance the tertiary education of future generations.”