New Nursing scholarships thanks to Doris Milne

Five Bachelor of Nursing and three Enrolled Nursing tauira have been awarded 2026 Doris Irene Milne Scholarships to help support their final year of study at OP ($3,000 for Bachelor of Nursing students and $1,500 for NZ Diploma in Enrolled Nursing students).

The eight recipients were chosen by the Nursing leadership team to recognise students who have demonstrated compassion, critical thinking, resilience, excellent attendance and outstanding clinical competence.

This is the first time the scholarships have been awarded and was made possible thanks to a generous bequest to the School of Nursing on behalf of one of New Zealand’s most influential medical professionals.

Doris Irene Milne (nee Brown) was known as a quiet and hardworking woman, who was utterly dedicated to the people she served.

She carried out her medical training at hospitals in Hawera, Wellington, and Dunedin.

Early in her career she became the first New Zealand Army nurse posted to Egypt during the Second World War, and received the Associate Royal Red Cross in 1944.

On her return, Doris spent more than a decade at Dunedin Hospital, working as the Supervising Matron and overseeing nursing services and hospitals for the Otago region.

She continued to serve with distinction, becoming the Queen’s Honorary Nursing Sister (QHNS) in 1953, and later establishing a retirement village in Wellington with her husband and friends, a testament to her ability to turn vision into action.

Her nephew Tom Fleming says he’s very proud of his aunt, who didn’t have children of her own.

"She spent the best part of her life working as a nurse in the war zones and travelling around the world”, he told the Bay of Plenty Times.

Doris’ whānau wanted to bequeath a scholarship to nursing tauira at Otago Polytechnic who represented her traits, with awards to be made by the school without applications required to remove barriers.

Head of Nursing, Professor Karole Hogarth, says the generous bequest will help support Otago Polytechnic students in their pursuit of professional excellence in their future healthcare careers.

“Doris’ legacy now supports those who, like her, turn up, work hard, care deeply, drive change and strive to become the most capable nurses they can be”, she says.

The first (2026) recipients of the Doris Irene Milne Scholarships are:

Bachelor of Nursing
· Gladys Maromo
· Memory Karudze
· Emily-Jane Clucas
· Katie Hawkins
· Madelynne-Joy Casison

New Zealand Diploma in Enrolled Nursing (Level 5)
· Annashae Drummond
· Eli Walker
· Noah Potter