The Jacob Smit Prize Award
This prize was established in 1973. An amount of $50 was awarded annually to a second or third year student in the Dutch language Department for an essay written in Dutch. Students with a post-primary education in Holland were excluded. The name was in honour of Jacob Smit who headed the Dutch School of Melbourne University for 25 years. Judgement was by the Dutch language Department of Melbourne University.
Funding of $1,250 was received from the Dutch Prins Bernhard Fund. The first prize was awarded in 1974 at a ceremony in the National Mutual Theatrette, the usual venue for Erasmus events at the time. In September 1988 none other than the well-known Dutch author Harry Mulisch, who was in Melbourne, handed out the prize in the Danish Club (the then usual venue for Erasmus). This time it was for $250.
In July 1991 the award was still alive, but by 1993 only 3 consolation prizes of $75 each were awarded. It was then judged that the quality was insufficient. Dutch was no longer taught at Universities and the Chair in Dutch was abolished. It was decided that a new prize “The Erasmus Dutch Essay Prize” for secondary students was established. However, despite publicity and an advertisement in the Dutch Courier it was found that few students were capable of writing a Dutch essay by then and the prize died in 1995.
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