Project Tongariro Memorial Award

The Project Tongariro Memorial Award was established in memory of Keith Maurice Blumhardt, William Edward Cooper, Douglas Neal McKenzie, Derek Ian White and Marie Pauline Williams, who died on Mt Ruapehu while testing helicopter rescue equipment on 9 December 1982. The award is open to any applicant for study of fauna, flora, geology, volcanology, meteorology, natural and human history of Tongariro National Park and World Heritage Site. Since the inaugural award in 1991, young researchers have benefited from these awards enabling a wide range of research to be done in the Park, covering topics from heather to bats, skinks, kiwi, stoats, visitor statistics, geology, lahars, botany and climate change. Recipients of awards are asked to acknowledge the society in research publications and send a copy of their work to Project Tongariro, and are encouraged to contribute a short article for the annual Tongariro Journal.