
Beryl Donkin Memorial Scholarship Fund
Beryl Killeen Donkin was a pioneer woman in the legal profession. She was the Queensland Law Society’s first full-time employee and continued to serve the Society for 13 years before assuming the statutory position of Secretary in 1954, a position she held for 21 years. Her commitment and service to Queensland lawyers – including by being the first female secretary of any Law Society in the Commonwealth – was honoured in 1975 when she received an OBE at Buckingham Palace.
Beryl Donkin is an honorary member of WLAQ. In 1991, to honour this remarkable woman’s memory, WLAQ through Jennifer McVeigh as initial settlor, launched the Beryl Donkin Memorial Award Fund. In June 2020, WLAQ updated the Trust Deed to appoint WLAQ as the Trustee, replacing Leneen Forde, Joan Bennett and Noela L’Estrange.
Read about past recipients of the Beryl Donkin Memorial Scholarship here.
The terms of the Beryl Donkin Memorial Scholarship Fund can be found here. Distribution of funds are subject to the Beryl Donkin Memorial Scholarship Fund Management Guidelines, which are available here.
The WLAQ will announce when applications open and close each year and an application form will appear below when applications are open. Should anyone want to apply to receive a grant from the Fund when applications are open, they must complete the application form and submit it below with the requested information and supporting documents. Applicants must be financial members of the WLAQ in order to be eligible for consideration. Please also note that the scholarship fund is small in size and cannot provide funding for substantial course fees such as the cost of an entire degree. It may, however, be able to contribute to the cost of a unit of study for such an undertaking.