P004115 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 2002-02-08 human Helen Morgan updated 2025-10-29 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P004115b.htm person Durdin Dorothy Joan AM FRCNA DUniv AACR2 16 May 1922 12 February 2025 Place of Birth Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Place of Death South Australia, Australia Nurse Educator Medical historian Joan Durdin, author of They Became Nurses: A History of Nursing in South Australia, 1836-1980 (1991) and Eleven Thousand Nurses: A History of Nursing Education at the Royal Adelaide Hospital 1889-1993 (1999) is a nursing historian and as a nurse educator has contributed much to the advancement of nursing through the development of advanced education in the higher education sector. In addition to her ten year's teaching at Royal Adelaide Hospital she spent six years as a nurse educator in Papua New Guinea. She conducted extensive oral history interviews for the Royal Adelaide Hospital Heritage and History Committee, 1991-1998. Durdin is commemorated by the Joan Durdin Oration, an annual event initiated and sponsored by the Department of Clinical Nursing at the University of Adelaide.

Joan Durdin AM studied general nursing at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (completed 1945), midwifery at the Queen Victoria Hospital in Melbourne (completed 1947) and infant welfare at Torrens House Adelaide (completed 1949). In 1949 she was awarded a Florence Nightingale Scholarship to study at the Royal College of Nursing London and later returned to the Royal Adelaide Hospital where she was Senior Sister Tutor from 1955 until 1964.

In 1974 she was appointed Lecturer in the Nursing Department, Sturt College of Advanced Education where she shared responsibility for the development of the curriculum for the basic program and for clinical placements of students. She was Head of the Department from 1979-1981 and when she retired in 1983 was Head of the School of Health Professions at the South Australian College of Advanced Education Sturt Campus. The importance of her work was recognised when she was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1985.

Durdin was also active in the work of the College of Nursing Australia, now the Royal College of Nursing Australia (RCNA) which awarded her an Honorary Fellowship in 1984. She was President of the South Australian Branch of the Royal Australian Nursing Federation ( now the Australian Nursing Federation) between 1976 and 1980 and a member of the Board of Management of Child and Adolescent and Family Health Service for three years including Chair of the Board in 1983.

Following her retirement Joan Durdin completed an Honours degree in History at the University of Adelaide. She then became involved in RCNA's National History Project, developed an oral history handbook and coordinated the National Oral History Program. She convened a sub-committee to compile the South Australian Chapter's archives, published a history of nursing in South Australia and wrote a number of biographies.

Durdin has been an architect of the transformation of nursing training in South Australia from the hospital to the tertiary education sector. She has been a leader nationally and internationally in the struggle to improve the professional status of nursing for more than 40 years and is renowned for her personal attributes of tact, diplomacy, tenacity of purpose, insight and calmness in adversity.

This text comprised the citation on the occasion of Joan Durdin being awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Flinders University of South Australia in 1994, and is used with permission.

Memberships

Member, Royal Australian Nursing Federation, 1946-1984; Fellow, College of Nursing, Australia, 1953-1984; Member, Education committee, College of Nursing, Australia, 1961-1965; Chairman, Education committee, College of Nursing, Australia, 1962-1964; Member, Florence Nightingale Committee (SA Branch), 1953-1965; Secretary, Florence Nightingale Committee (SA Branch), 1954-1964; Member, Council of Royal Australian Nursing, Federation (SA Branch), 1953-1965; Vice-President, Royal Australian Nursing Federation (SA Branch), 1975-1976; President, Royal Australian Nursing Federation (SA Branch), 1977-1981; Member, Federal Council, Royal Australian Nursing Federation, 1977-1981; Examiner, Nurses' Board of South Australia, 1955-1964, 1972-1982; Convenor, Archives sub-committee, Royal College of Nursing, Australia, SA Chapter, 1989-1997; Member, Management Committee of the National Nursing Archival Project, Royal College of Nursing, Australia, 1990-1993; Convenor, Oral History Working Party, National Nursing Archival Project, Royal College of Nursing, Australia, 1990-1993; Secretary, Oral History Association of Australia, (SA Branch), 1983-1997; President, Oral History Association of Australia (SA Branch), 1997-1999; Honorary member, Oral History Association of Australia, 1999; Member, Historical Society of South Australia, 1985- ; Member, Australian Society of the History of Medicine, 1990- ;

1945 1945 Infectious Diseases Nursing Certificate, Northfield 1945 1945 General Nursing Certificate, Royal Adelaide Hospital 1947 1947 Midwifery Certificate, Queen Victoria Hospital, Melbourne 1950 1951 Florence Nightingale Scholarship for overseas study 1951 1951 Tutor sister diploma, Royal College of Nursing (UK) / London University 1965 1965 Diploma of Arts and Education, University of Adelaide 1984 1984 Honorary Fellow of the College of Nursing, Australia 1984 1984 Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA (Hons)), University of Adelaide 1985 1985 Member of the Order of Australia (AO) - for services to nursing education 1994 1994 Honorary Doctorate, Flinders University of South Australia Durdin, Joan (1922-)

Trove

 'Durdin, Dorothy Joan', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Durdin, Dorothy Joan Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Book Section: Carroll, Dorothy (1897-1966), hospital matron Durdin, Joan Carroll, Dorothy (1897-1966), hospital matron Melbourne Melbourne University Press 1993 Australian dictionary of biography, volume 13: 1940 - 1980 A-De John Ritchie 373-374 Journal Article: The Place of Oral History in Nursing History Durdin, Joan The Place of Oral History in Nursing History 1984 Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing 2 1 4-8 Journal Article: Nursing in the Outposts: Resources for a Historian of Nursing Durdin, Joan Nursing in the Outposts: Resources for a Historian of Nursing 1995 History and Health: Journal of the Australian Society of the History of Medicine Conference Paper: Doctors and the Training of Nurses in South Australia, 1880-1920 Durdin, Joan Doctors and the Training of Nurses in South Australia, 1880-1920 Melbourne University of Melbourne, Medical History Unit 1986 Reflections on Medical History and Health in Australia. Third National Conference on Medical History and Health in Australia Harold Attwood and Geoffrey Kenny 93-100 Conference Paper: Doctors and the training of nurses in South Australia 1880-1920 Durdin, Joan Doctors and the training of nurses in South Australia 1880-1920 Melbourne Medical History Unit, University of Melbourne and Medical History Society, AMA (Victorian Branch) 1987 Reflections on Medical History and Health in Australia: Third National Conference on Medical History and Health in Australia, 4 September 1986 Attwood, Harold and Kenny, Geoffrey Journal Article: Four Nursing Pioneers in Colonial South Australia Durdin, Joan Four Nursing Pioneers in Colonial South Australia London Royal College of Nursing 1987 History of Nursing Bulletin 2 1 Journal Article: Spoken to Written Word: Writing a History of Nursing in South Australia Durdin, Joan Spoken to Written Word: Writing a History of Nursing in South Australia 1991 Oral History Association of Australia Journal 13 Conference Paper: Discovering Australian Nursing Durdin, Joan Discovering Australian Nursing Melbourne Royal College of Nursing 1993 Papers of the First National [Nursing] History Conference: Australian Nursing - The Story Book Section: Hanton, Hilda Mary (1884-1954) hospital matron Durdin, Joan Hanton, Hilda Mary (1884-1954) hospital matron Melbourne Melbourne University Press 1996 Australian dictionary of biography, volume 14: 1940 - 1980 Di-Kel John Ritchie 382 Book: They Became Nurses: a History of Nursing in South Australia, 1836-1980 Durdin, Joan They Became Nurses: a History of Nursing in South Australia, 1836-1980 Sydney Allen & Unwin 1991 Thesis: Learning to be a Nurse: Early Steps in the Professionalisation of Nursing in South Australia Durdin, Joan Learning to be a Nurse: Early Steps in the Professionalisation of Nursing in South Australia Adelaide University of Adelaide 1984 Joan Durdin Joan Durdin Courtesy Joan Durdin.