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Sitting with the winner of the scholarship that bears his late sister’s name, Angus Dawson is sure she would be impressed.
“She would love you, Adele, and be very excited that you’re going to go and head off to Oxford and have the scholarship in her name,” he says.
Adele Burke (centre), with Nikki and Angus Dawson. Burke is the recipient of a new $100,000 scholarship from the Katrina Dawson Foundation.Credit: Sam Mooy
It is almost 11 years since Man Haron Monis took a group hostage in Martin Place’s Lindt Cafe. During the early hours on December 16, 2014 a police tactical operations unit stormed the cafe, bringing his 16-hour siege to an end.
Sydney lawyer Katrina Dawson was caught in the crossfire, killed by a stray bullet fragment from a police gun.
Her family has chosen to memorialise her through the work of the Katrina Dawson Foundation, which sponsors and mentors young women of great potential: awarding university college scholarships and annual prizes to those being supported by the Smith Family.
Sydney lawyer Katrina Dawson died during the course of the Lindt Cafe siege in 2014. Credit:
Burke, a University of Sydney graduate, has been named the inaugural Katrina Dawson John Monash Scholar. The new $100,000 scholarship, awarded to a young woman starting postgraduate study, is a joint venture with the General Sir John Monash Foundation.
The scholarship will send Burke to Oxford University to study a master’s degree in science in sustainability, enterprise and the environment.
“The more I’ve learnt about Katrina, it is very special,” Burke says. “She sounds like she was an absolutely amazing, amazing young woman.
“I’ll try to do justice to the name of the scholarship.”
Angus and his wife, Nikki, say Burke is a benchmark for what they look for in scholars at the Katrina Dawson Foundation.
Angus recalls Katrina’s love of learning beyond the classroom, and her eagerness to make the most of every opportunity – from being on her college rowing team to participating in a heptathlon at the University Games.
“She’d love the fact that you’re a debater,” Nikki tells Burke.
Burke spent her early years in Broken Hill, before moving to Canberra aged eight. She studied mechanical engineering and mathematics at the University of Sydney, topping her course and earning the University Medal.
Now a consultant at Boston Consulting Group, she has her sights set on an important field of policymaking: incentivising government and business to transition to a net zero future.
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“I have always been interested in this intersection between communication and engineering,” she says. “That’s exactly what’s needed in the transition [to net zero].”
Burke is now applying for a place in her desired course, sponsored by the two foundations. She expects to begin studies in September 2026.
Since its inception in 2014, the Katrina Dawson Foundation has sponsored 27 scholarships to the Women’s College at the University of Sydney. It also awards 16 annual prizes to young women within the Smith Family’s Learning for Life program, among other mentoring and fellowship programs.
“Katrina would be very proud of the girls so far that we’ve supported with the foundation,” Angus says.
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