Sally Sophia Goold (née Bamblett) is a

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

woman who became the first Aboriginal nurse in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. Goold was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

on 1986 and named the Senior Australian of the Year in 2006.

Early life and education

Goold was born in

Narrandera Narrandera ( ) until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell and Sturt highways, adjacent to the Murrumbidgee River, an ...

, New South Wales. After moving to Sydney as a child, she went to

St Peters Public School ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

. When Goold was 14, she dropped out of school to work in retail. At 16 years old, she began her nursing training at

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School a ...

and became the hospital's first Aboriginal nursing student. Later after finishing her training, Goold extended her studies by earning a

nurse education Nurse education consists of the theoretical and practical training provided to nurses with the purpose to prepare them for their duties as nursing care professionals. This education is provided to student nurses by experienced nurses and other med ...

diploma and went to

Queensland University of Technology Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The univ ...

for a

Bachelor of Applied Science The Bachelor of Applied Science, often abbreviated as B.AS., BAS, BSAS, BASc, B.A.Sc., or BAppSc, is an undergraduate degree. There are also ''Bachelor of Arts and Science'' and ''Bachelor of Administration Science'' undergraduate degrees, also a ...

. Her highest education was a Master's degree in nursing at

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

Career

Upon completion of her training, Goold started her career working for the King George V Memorial Hospital and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital while becoming the first registered nurse working in New South Wales. In 1971, Goold was a co-founder of the

Aboriginal Medical Service Aboriginal Medical Services Redfern, known as AMS Redfern, formerly the Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) is an Aboriginal Australian health service in the Sydney suburb of Redfern. Established around 1971, it was the first Aboriginal community ...

. Following establishment, Goold moved to teach at the Queensland University of Technology's nursing school. While teaching, she led Aboriginal health services for

Queensland Health Queensland Health is the name of the overall public health service in the state of Queensland, Australia. Like all other states and territories in Australia, the Queensland Government provides low- or no-cost primary, secondary, and tertiary ...

. After teaching for six years at the university, she influenced the creation of the

Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in 1997 and named the congress's executive director. Other hospitals Goold taught at include the

St Andrews War Memorial Hospital St Andrews War Memorial Hospital Administration Building is a heritage-listed former house and residential college and now hospital administration building at 465 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was bu ...

and Prince Charles Hospital. In 2007, Goold became part of the inaugural

National Indigenous Council The National Indigenous Council (NIC) was an appointed advisory body to the Australian Government through the Minister's for Indigenous Affairs' Taskforce on Indigenous Affairs (MTIA) established in November 2004 (not to be confused with the ea ...

for the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

Awards and honours

In 1986, Goold was presented the

at the 1986 Queen's Birthday Honours. In 2006, Goold was named the Senior Australian of the Year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goold, Sally Australian nurses Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian of the Year Award winners Year of birth missing (living people) Wiradjuri people Living people