NSW College of Nursing
In 1948 the NSW Branch of the Florence Nightingale Memorial Committee of Australia formulated a plan for an autonomous college of nursing to be set up and called The Australian College of Nursing. When the plan did not come to fruition, the NSW College of Nursing was established.
It was established in 1949 by representatives of the following professional nursing bodies in NSW at that time the NSW Nurses Association (NSWNA), the Australasian Trained Nurses Associates (ATNA), and the Institute of Hospital Matrons of NSW and ACT after a mass meeting of NSW nurses on 5 January 1949 had recommended that their leaders implement courses of study at the post-graduate level. The four nurse leaders directly responsible for the foundation of the College and the implementation of courses were Miss Muriel Doherty, Miss Agnes Mary Lions, Miss Margaret Looker (later Mrs Guy) and Mrs Georgina McCready. The first courses of study were commenced by the College on 7 March 1949.
On June 2nd, the College obtained a Certificate of Incorporation as a Company. In that year also, graduates of the College and selected nurse leaders were invested as Fellows of the College. Since 1962, graduates have been admitted as Members of the College, succeeding to Fellow status after five years of membership.
In February 1962, the first courses were commenced in the new College building at 58 Allen Street, Glebe. In the ensuing years, the College progressed and prospered as the only educational body for nurses of its kind in NSW. The Martin Report in 1954 marked the beginning of events that were to change the College's role. It recommended that the NSW College of Nursing and the College of Nursing, Australia become members of Institutes or Colleges in their respective states. The NSW Government decided not to adopt the Martin Report recommendations and devised a different legislative plan for the establishment of Colleges of Advanced Education. This is contained in the NSW Higher Education Act of 1969. Three of the courses (Diplomas in Nursing Administration and Nursing Education and the Certificate course in Orthopaedic Nursing) were recognised as advanced education courses under Section 5(1)(a) of the State Grants (Advanced Education) act of 1967.
The Board of Advanced Education, however, was not prepared to recommend that the NSW College of Nursing should become a single-purpose College of Advanced Education. In 1969, it suggested that the teaching functions of the College be transferred to a school within the NSW College of Paramedical Studies (since 1975, Cumberland College of Health Sciences), a large multi-purpose College of Advanced Education. Much discussion about the issue followed. It was feared that if the College refused to transfer its teaching functions, it might in time be forced out of existence by lack of funds.
At the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Fellows and Members, held on 9 June 1972, the resolution that the formal teaching functions of the NSW College of Nursing be transferred to the School of Nursing with College of Paramedical Studies was carried by a majority of votes. On 1 July 1973 the College handed over its formal teaching functions to the NSW College of Paramedical Studies. However, since 1978 the College has become increasingly involved in short clinical courses conducted on behalf of the Health Commission (since 1983 the Health Department).
The NSW College of Nursing became The College of Nursing in November 2003 and in November 2011 amalgamated with the Royal College of Nursing, becoming the Australian College of Nursing.