Clinton - fine craftsmanship at 16 wins RSA scholarship

The Returned Services Association of Whitianga was once blessed by the involvement and commitment of one George Culbard. He helped out a lot and being an ex-serviceman with no family in New Zealand, he adopted the RSA as his family and they adopted him. One night, he was mugged and robbed here in Whitianga and he did not recover sufficiently from his injuries, to be able to care for himself. Members of the RSA attended to his needs and provided loving care until his death. George didn’t own much, but what he did have left, formed the basis of an annual scholarship to be granted to a young male or female student, showing skill and promise in engineering as that was George’s vocation, both in his years as a servicemen and in his volunteer life. The scholarship is in George’s memory and was established by Bruce Collier (RSA Patron) and Stan Wilson (now deceased).

This year, the scholarship was awarded to 16 year old, Year 11, MBAS student, Clinton Raynel.

Clinton is skilled at, and has a passion for, engineering. For the award ceremony, he brought two very excellent creations to exhibit that he had transformed from basic metal and timber.

The ‘safe’ pictured, was engineered from a dirty discarded sheet of steel; the chest of drawers was cut and crafted completely from the timber of an old door.

This is not a recent interest. Since a child, Clinton has used careful measuring and planning to make things. At 11 years, he caught the fish and prepared its skeleton for a permanent display (pictured).

He has got what it takes. Member of the RSA committee gathered at The Mercury Bay Club for Clinton’s presentation and enjoyed seeing the awards he recently won for his high achievements at the MBAS prize-giving. The patron of the RSA, Bruce Collier, and the RSA President, Trevor Fraser presented Clinton with the $300 voucher for Place Makers. Clinton’s parents, Catherine and …. were present at this happy occasion.

Caption : Clinton and family