Three students who took exceptional photographs of USC’s native fauna were awarded the inaugural Gerard Mills Memorial Prizes for Wildlife Photography at a USC Art Gallery presentation this week.

USC Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill was joined by members of Mr Mills’ family at the announcement of the winner and two placegetters, judged from 228 entries.

Tyler Nicholls, 21, of Cedar Pocket near Gympie, won the top prize package worth $1,500 for his photo of a noisy miner flapping its wings on the lake on campus at Sippy Downs.

Tyler is studying a Bachelor of Education (Secondary)/Bachelor of Recreation and Outdoor Environmental Studies.

Kate Berry, 21, of Cashmere in Brisbane, took second for her close-up image of a dragonfly on a leaf. She is a Bachelor of Animal Ecology student who wins a $600 package.

Jackson Weaver, 22, of Tanawha, was third for his photo of a tawny frogmouth perched on a tree branch. He is a Bachelor of Business/Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) student who wins a $400 package.

USC this year introduced the competition to honour the memory of the late Gerard Mills, a passionate local wildlife photographer who last year received an Honorary Senior Fellowship for his dedication to education and art.

Mr Mills spent almost four years taking more than 30,000 photos of wildlife activity – including rare and elusive species – on the 100-hectare USC Sunshine Coast campus at Sippy Downs.

Works were judged on technical quality, composition, originality and artistic merit. Judges included USC staff, Mills family representatives and a current USC student.

See the gallery of entries.

— Julie Schomberg