The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) Foundation has named the 22 nurse leaders who are the Bullwinkel Scholars for 2025.
The scholarships honour the memory of the 21 nurses killed at Radji Beach on Bangka Island, Indonesia, on 16 February 1942, and the sole survivor, Lt Col Vivian Bullwinkel.
The scholarships are valued at up to $10,000 each, and provide one study travel scholarship, and 21 recipients with enrolment into ACN’s leadership programs, giving them the opportunity to further their professional journeys.
The recipients have demonstrated remarkable leadership, dedication, and potential in their fields of nursing.
“These winners embody the best of nursing values, compassion, resilience and pride in delivering exceptional care,” ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz FACN said.
“Nurses have so much to contribute to the health care system and ACN is proud to support them to strengthen their leadership skills and ability to advocate for their patients, colleagues, and the profession.”
The scholarships are funded by the ACN Foundation, its donors, and partners, the Department of Health and Aged Care and Department of Defence.
| Bullwinkel Scholar Recipient | |
| Sheldon Omwamba MACN | Matron Irene Melville Drummond FACN |
| Naomi Clark | Sister Ada Joyce Bridge FACN |
| John Jensen | Sister Florence Aubin Salmon FACN |
| Sonja Kulhavy MACN | Sister Mary Eleanor Ellie McGlade FACN |
| Marrianne Mcghee MACN | Sister Janet ‘Jenny’ Kerr FACN |
| Flight Lieutenant Alyce Vernon | Lieutenant Lorna Florence Fairweather FACN |
| Rajwant Kaur | Sister Nancy Harris FACN |
| Katrina Cook MACN | Sister Esther Sarah Jean Stewie Stewart FACN |
| Andrea Wilkinson MACN | Sister Mona Margaret Anderson Tait FACN |
| Adam Sasinowski | Sister Mary Elizabeth ‘Beth’ Cuthbertson FACN |
| Bree Looker MACN | Sister Elaine Balfour Ogilvy FACN |
| Raul Cox MACN | Sister Alma May Beard FACN |
| Alison Cooper MACN | Sister Ellen Nell Louisa Keats FACN |
| Breanna Carroll | Sister Kathleen Margaret Neuss FACN |
| Jeanette Makhoul | Sister Rosetta Joan Wight FACN |
| Irina Shevchenko MACN | Sister Clarice Halligan FACN |
| Lisa Kim Russ MACN | Sister Dorothy Gwendoline ‘Buddy’ Elmes FACN |
| Daniel Darmanin MACN | Sister Peggy Everett Farmaner FACN |
| Mary-Ellen Hose | Sister Minnie Ivy Hodgson FACN |
| Jessica Kinder | Sister Bessie Wilmott FACN |
| Leut John Townsend MACN | Lieutenant Florence ‘Flo’ Rebecca Casson FACN |
| ACN Lt Col Vivian Bullwinkel Study Travel Scholarship Recipient | |
| Mrs Annette Bezzant MACN | Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Bullwinkel DLF |