Prizes and fellowships

Hugh Martin Weir Prize

The Prize is to honour the memory of Lieutenant Hugh Martin Weir (1915 - 2004) and his fellow prisoners of war. Hugh was a prisoner of war of the Japanese in Java for three and a half years between 1942 and 1945. The Barr Smith Library holds a copy of a book about Hugh Martin Weir titled Well, what do you know about that? It is available for loan and can be found in the library's collection.

The purpose of the Prize is to encourage study and research, including use of the Barr Smith Library collections, into any aspect of Australia's involvement in war, or the treatment of prisoners of war in any conflict, including the impact on those persons involved, their families, and/or their communities. Suggested topics include:

Law:
- Legal aspects of Australian wars e.g. conscription
- Pursuit of war criminals and war crimes
- Do/did POW s have legal rights?
Economics
- Economic events like trade wars that led to conflict
- Economic impact of Australia’s wars
- Paying for/financing wars
History
- Societal attitudes to our wars over time
- Role of media and censorship in our conflicts
Politics
- Role of anti-war movements in our conflicts
- Impact of wars on women and women’s rights
- Role of Indigenous Australians in our wars
- Impact of wars on those men who did not join the forces
Psychology
- Psychological impact of war and captivity on those involved and, on their families,
Food and Agriculture
- Feeding a nation at war
Engineering, science and chemistry
- Engineering and scientific developments during our conflicts
Music and Art
- How conflicts affected our musical compositions
- How artists portraited the conflicts
Medicine, dental and nursing
- Working as a POW on less than a minimum calorie intake

The Prize is open to Adelaide University students who are enrolled in an Honours thesis program or a postgraduate program by coursework or by research, either commencing or already in progress. Postdoctoral researchers are eligible to apply within three years of a doctoral award.

Applications are currently closed.

Selection of the winner will be by an Award Committee comprising:

The University Librarian or their nominee (Convenor).
Glen Cameron Weir or his nominee.
Head of Department of History, School of Humanities.

Selection will be based on a written application, a referee report and possibly an interview.

The winner of the Prize will be awarded up to $2,000 annually, as funds permit, which may be put towards the costs of travel and accommodation, books, printing, inter-library loans, copying and publication or other agreed purposes identified in the candidate’s application to support their research.