The 21 Hearts Scholarship, new in 2025, is to be awarded to a registered nurse wishing to pursue further postgraduate studies or research in oncology.

The naming of the scholarship honours the 21 nurses who lost their lives during the Second World War in the Bangka Island Massacre and Vivian Bullwinkel, whose resilience continues to be an inspiration to so many.

The 21 Hearts Scholarship, valued at $7,500, is sponsored by Claire and Adrian Booth aided by the generosity of David Groves.

Rosemary Norman Grants provide opportunities for applicants in the later stages of their PhD or who are undertaking other nursing or midwifery postgraduate courses.

The 'Babe' Norman Scholarship is awarded to nurses and midwives who have exceptional research potential to undertake a full-time clinical research doctorate at an Australian university. Applicants will be commencing or in the very early stages of PhD candidature.

Rosemary Norman Grants and the ‘Babe’ Norman Scholarship are generously funded by the Rosemary Norman Foundation, established in 2008 by Miss Rosemary Havill Norman (1933–2021). Rosemary graduated from the Melbourne School of Nursing in 1954 before completing a staffing year at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) followed by midwifery training at the Royal Women’s Hospital. She returned to the RMH to work in various clinical areas for more than a decade before beginning her teaching career at the hospital. Rosemary later completed a Diploma in Nursing Education and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons). She progressed to educator positions at the College of Nursing, Australia and later at the Royal District Nursing Service, where she engaged in research to improve practice.

Rosemary held an enduring dedication to nursing and commitment to further education for nurses and midwives, now perpetuated in the aims of the Foundation and scholarships named in honour of her late father, Reginald ‘Babe’ Havill Norman (1893–1973).

Sister Mary Elizabeth Cuthbertson was one of the sixty-five Australian nurses evacuated on the SS Vyner Brooke, which was sunk by Japanese planes off Bangka Island.

There was no word of Beth (the name she was always called) until two years later when her father received a telegram from the Army Nursing Service that she was missing, believe drowned.

It was not until September 1945 that Beth’s family was notified that she was dead. Sister Vivian Bullwinkel told how Beth had survived the bombing of their ship and had swum ashore to Radji Beach, Bangka Island. Beth was then massacred alongside twenty-one other nurses who were marched back into the sea and gunned down by the Japanese soldiers.

Beth Cuthbertson's family is proud to sponsor this scholarship for a student undertaking postgraduate nursing studies at a recognised Australian university, preferably working in regional or rural Australia.

The Prince Henry’s Affiliates Scholarship was established by the former Prince Henry’s Hospital and named in honour of past trainees of the respected Melbourne hospital.

The Australian Nurses Memorial Centre (ANMC) is pleased to offer the Prince Henry’s Affiliates Scholarship for nurses undertaking postgraduate study in patient-centred acute care. Any course of study or research in nursing that aims to improve patient health outcomes or the experience of care in an acute care setting would qualify the applicant for this Scholarship.

The aim of this scholarship is to increase access to postgraduate study for nurses undertaking further qualifications in patient-centred acute care nursing.

This scholarship is generously funded by Miss Marion Kilvert, an ANMC life member.

The Michael Dent Scholarship is generously sponsored by Mrs Sandra Dent, a local St Kilda Road resident and supporter of the ANMC.

Michael John Dent was born in Hull, Yorkshire England in 1948 and was brought up in New Zealand. Michael attended Auckland Grammar School progressing to Auckland University to study law at the age of 17. Michael had a very successful career, sadly cut short in December 1998 when he died in an accident aged 50.

Sandra herself a retired nurse, continues to take a keen interest in all things nursing and is pleased to be in a position to contribute to the ANMC in the form of this scholarship in the hope that someone else experiences the joy and satisfaction of nursing and midwifery.

The Australian Legion of Ex-Service Men and Women (ALS) was formed originally to offer assistance and support to Australian ex-servicemen and women. In 2006 the Australian Legion, through the Victorian Veterans Council, made available funds for scholarships to further the education of registered nurses in the areas of aged care and palliative care nursing.

The Australian Nurses Memorial Centre in association with the Australian Legion of Ex-Service Men and Women is pleased to offer scholarships for nurses undertaking postgraduate study in care of the older person or palliative care. The scholarships are for one year of study at a recognised Australian university.

ALS Scholarships are available to nurses who are either current or ex-service personnel or a family member of a person who has served in the Australian Defence Force at any time. Priority will be given to nurses who are committed to working in a rural or regional area on completion of their study program.

This award to honour Vivian Bullwinkel, one of the ANMC founders, is generously supported by her nephew Mr John Bullwinkel.

Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Bullwinkel AO MBE ARRC ED (1915–2000) joined the Australian Army Nursing Service in 1941 and was sent to Singapore before it fell to Japanese forces. The Australian nurses were evacuated on the SS Vyner Brooke, which was then bombed by the Japanese. Survivors clambered onto lifeboats, some being lost at sea, and others came to shore at Bangka Island. Vivian was the sole survivor of the subsequent massacre on Radji Beach and survived more than three years of internment in a Japanese prisoner of war camp

Vivian went on to a distinguished career. She became a pioneer in the nursing profession, devoted to improving the welfare and education of nurses. Vivian served on the council of the Australian War Memorial, and later as president of the Australian College of Nursing. She never forgot those local Malaysian women who had fed her and Private Cecil Gordon Kinsley, a soldier survivor of the SS Vyner Brooke. In their honour, she set up a program for women from that region to train as nurses in Australia. Vivian also became Director of Nursing at the prestigious Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital in Melbourne.

Betty Jeffrey OAM (1908–2000) is honoured through this Award as one of the ANMC’s founders. In 1941 Betty joined the Australian Army Nursing Service. She was posted to the 2/10^th Australian General Hospital, Malacca in Malaya and later to Singapore. Betty was evacuated from Singapore on the SS Vyner Brooke, which was bombed by the Japanese.  Betty spent two-and-a-half days in the water, eventually reaching the mangroves at Bangka Island. She was taken prisoner, spending three-and-a-half years in captivity. Betty managed to keep a diary of her experiences as a prisoner of war, which was published as White Coolies.

After returning home to Melbourne and spending two years in hospital, Betty travelled around Victoria in 1947 with Vivian Bullwinkel to raise funds in order to establish a Nurses Memorial Centre in Melbourne, a place for nurses to meet and further their education. This was a promise she had made in the prison camp: that upon their return, the nurses would create a living memorial to those who did not return. Betty became the Nurses Memorial Centre’s first administrator in 1949 when it opened, and later its patron.

The Australian Nurses Memorial Centre is pleased to offer an annual Mental Health Scholarship for nurses undertaking postgraduate study in mental health care.  The aim of this scholarship is to increase access to postgraduate study for nurses undertaking further qualifications in mental health.

The ANMC Mental Health Scholarship is for one year of study in 2024 at an Australian university or other accredited higher education institute.

This scholarship, introduced in 2016, is made possible by generous donations to the Australian Nurses Memorial Centre.  The ANMC recognises the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives to the health and wellbeing of the community.

We are pleased to continue support of our First Nations scholarship for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives undertaking postgraduate nursing or midwifery studies at an Australian university or other accredited higher education institution.