An $8000-a-year scholarship has been created to honour the memory of a young woman who died in the tragic Hunter Valley wedding bus crash.
Mining services provider Thiess launched the annual Tori Cowburn Scholarship in 2024, a year after losing 29-year-old employee Tori Cowburn in the tragedy that claimed 10 lives.
The crash occurred on June 11, 2023, when a bus carrying 35 wedding guests from the Wandin Valley Estate to Singleton overturned on a roundabout near Greta. It remains one of Australia’s deadliest road crashes.
“To honour the memory of our friend and colleague Tori Cowburn, who tragically lost her life in 2023 in a bus accident in the Hunter Valley after returning from a wedding, Thiess is offering an annual scholarship in her name,” the company said.
Cowburn began her career with Thiess in 2012 as a trainee, later joining the Mount Owen Project where she worked for 11 years as an administration officer in the maintenance team.
She was described by the company as a “treasured” employee.
Before her death, Cowburn had been preparing to travel overseas and start a new role, plans she never got to pursue.
To honour Tori, the scholarship is awarded annually to a Hunter Valley woman studying a mining-related discipline at university.
It provides $8000 per year for up to three years. Recipients also gain hands-on work experience at one of Thiess’ local operations.
Thiess Group Executive Australia East Operations Rae O’Brien said the program drew immediate interest when it launched.
“The Thiess family in the Hunter Valley is very close knit and honouring Tori’s memory through this program is something Thiess is proud to offer the community,” he said.
The first recipient, Muswellbrook student Lluka Moffitt, said receiving the scholarship was “a bittersweet honour.”
“I’m very grateful and proud to be supported by Thiess and Tori’s family, though I’m mindful that it came at a devastating loss for the Cowburn family,” she said.
Moffitt said combining part-time work at Thiess with her studies has eased financial pressure and boosted her career prospects.
“This experience has not only given me practical skills but has also provided me financial support as I continue my degree, allowing me to focus on learning and gaining the most from both my studies and workplace experience,” she said.
She hopes the program will encourage other women in the region to follow similar paths.
“I believe the scholarship will inspire many girls in the Hunter Valley and is unlike anything seen before in mining,” she said.
Applications for the 2025 scholarship close on Thursday September 4, 2025.
Images: Thiess
