Paul and Judy Williams founded the Woomera Education Scholarship Trust (WEST) in 2010 in the shared belief that education is the key to creating lasting and meaningful change for Indigenous Australians. Once retired, they set out to provide opportunities for students through scholarships, recognising the life-changing impact of access to quality education.
After establishing the trust, registering the charity, and signing a partnership agreement with Peninsula Grammar in Melbourne, Paul and Judy faced challenges in finding students to take up the opportunity. After several school visits to share the scholarship opportunity, they were somewhat deflated when they received no applications.
This led to a chance encounter at an education seminar, where the couple were introduced to Yalari. On a phone call with Llew Mullins, Yalari’s Managing Director shared that for the first time, there were more student applications than available placements. “The rest, as they say, is history,” said Paul.
Waverley Stanley AM, Paul and Judy Williams and Yalari Ready student Seianna at the 2025 Orientation Camp.
Llew Mullins, Paul and Judy Williams with Waverley Stanley AM.
Paul and Judy have supported Yalari for many years and in many ways, and today they continue to show their support by sponsoring two students; Corinthian from Halls Creek Western Australia who attends Great Southern Grammar School, and Merrick from the Tiwi Islands, currently studying at St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School in Brisbane.
Paul and Judy were also proud supporters of the Yalari Ready pilot program in 2024. “On our many annual visits to the Kimberley to interview WEST applicants, we used to come across so many kids, bright eyed and bubbling, clearly with the potential to succeed in life, but falling just short when it came to academic level. Yalari Ready gives them a second chance, and what a wonderful thing that is,” said Paul.
Paul and Judy’s unwavering commitment to creating educational opportunities for Indigenous children from remote communities is reflected not only in their dedication to WEST over the past 15 years, but also in their ongoing partnership and shared journey with Yalari. “Education is not about closing the gap, it is about jumping the gap,” shared Paul. “In the Kimberley, an area the size of Victoria, there are only six secondary schools, many of which, with the best will in the world, are not up to mainstream city standard. The children have to go to “go-away school”. And that is where organisations such as Yalari, and in its own small way, WEST, step in.”
