11th May 2020
The New Zealand Alpine Club recently announced two new DOW Hall Grant approvals by the Publications Committee for 2020.
I was very pleased to be given the maximum grant possible ($2500) for my intended book, and the support from the New Zealand Alpine Club is greatly appreciated.
In this Covid-19 era it was particularly uplifting to receive this support when so many aspects of the NZAC have been jeopardised due to income drying up. However, the DOW Hall fund was set up independently of the day-to-day running of the NZAC and the vision and mission of the fund (and the NZAC) will continue past this current epidemic.
Shaun Barnett
A second grant was awarded to Shaun Barnett for his book covering over two centuries of writing on a wide range of tramping accounts from early exploration of the mountains, bush excursions and coastal walks to trans-alpine traverses by both early Maori and Pakeha.
His working title ‘Across the Pass: a collection of writing about tramping in New Zealand (Otago University Press) is expected for publication in 2021 – $1500.
Photo credit – Ben Sanford
More information on the DOW Hall Fund
On the 10th March 1975, Wanda Alice Margaret Hall (1912 – 2005), the widow of the late David Oswald William Hall (1909 -1971), set aside $2000 via a trust deed to ‘provide financial assistance for the publication of alpine literature’. The first recipient of this fund was Hugh Wilson, towards the publication of Field Guide; Wild Plants of Mount Cook National Park in 1978.
Since then, the DOW Hall Fund has helped support the publication of many other books. The fund is replenished with donations from those who wish to encourage others with a passion for our mountain environment to record their knowledge and experiences in print.