The programme is the idea of his daughter Gracie Hansby, a local solicitor, who received support from former mayor Jim Boult and newly-retired council CEO Mike Theelen.
‘‘I said to Mike this would actually be such a great way to continue dad’s legacy because he was so passionate about kids that were talented.
‘‘And I said it would also benefit council long term because these kids are getting this fantastic opportunity and forming these connections with QLDC, and even if they don’t come back to Queenstown, having something like this on your resume is amazing.’’
Wakatipu High School leaver Jed McLean, who’s off to Canterbury University to study engineering, was the inaugural winner of the QLDC Hansby engineering internship.
And Mount Aspiring College student Dani Maguire was the first winner of the QLDC Hansby planning & development internship.
Both students completed their two-week internships recently.
Gracie was on the panel who chose Jed, who she says uncannily has some of her dad’s mannerisms — ‘‘he was actually incredible, just the drive he had’’.
‘‘We had an award ceremony for him and his parents came up to me and they said, ‘it’s so strange you’ve given him the scholarship because we went to university with Pete’.’’
In his report on his internship, Jed says ‘‘I’ve learnt more than I ever thought I would when I applied [for] this position’’.
‘‘This internship has heightened my motivation and excitement for starting engineering study and makes me think more seriously about job opportunities in local government one day.’’
Peter Hansby originally worked for QLDC from ’94 to 2004 in different roles, including consents engineer and roading engineer, then, after a spell with council-controlled organisation City Care in Christchurch, became QLDC’s property & infrastructure boss in 2014.
