The Speight’s Brewery Environment Fund has been established to support not-for-profit groups working to preserve and protect Dunedin’s natural environment.
Speight’s has always had a strong connection with the natural environment and those that enjoy it respectfully and responsibly. We hope the Fund will reinforce this relationship and make Dunedinites proud that our brewery is part of their city.
For a downloadable Information Pack about the Fund please
click here.
How does the Fund work?
The Fund is an annually contestable pool available for environment projects within Dunedin City Council’s boundaries, with preference given to initiatives concerning the preservation and protection of local water resources and environments. For more information on how to apply for funding and funding criteria,
click here.
Funding will be allocated on an annual basis with applications opening in March for one month, and prizes being awarded every 6 June, the anniversary of James Speight being granted a brewing license for the Rattray Street site.
However to demonstrate to the community that we were serious about this initiative we awarded an initial $17,102* in October 2009.
Click here to find out more about the three recipients of this inaugural Speight's Brewery Environment Fund grant.
Where does the money come from?
The Fund grows in three ways:
The total amount available through The Fund each year will depend on the generosity of people taking water from the Rattray Street tap, and the sale of water bottles through the brewery tour store.
Speight’s and Dunedin
The Speight’s Brewery has been part of the Dunedin community since 1876 when James Speight, Charles Greenslade and William Dawson resigned from the Well Park Brewery and set up a new brewery in a redundant building in Rattray Street, which had previously served as a bottling house and malt house for the Well Park.
Speight’s Ale was first brewed on 4 April that same year and by 1880 was winning gold medals at the Melbourne Exhibition, hence the name Speight’s Gold Medal Ale.
In 1884 the brewers started to use the pure water from the spring beneath the brewery in their beer. The spring water is still used today and a further 1,000,000 litres is enjoyed by locals annually through the tap on Rattray Street where it is made available free of charge.
Dunedin and Speight’s are inextricably connected. As well as the new Speight’s Brewery Environment Fund, we demonstrate our commitment to the home of Speight’s in a range of ways including our sponsorship of Dunedin Rugby and The Highlanders, the Skeggs Foundation for elite athletes, the annual Otago Cancer Society Ball, and Little Sisters of the Poor to name a few.
*The judges decided to roll the remaining $7898 (of the initial $25,000 grant) over into next years total prize pool.