New Trust a testament to physiotherapy’s past and future

The School of Physiotherapy has established the Billie McLeod Trust to support student vaccinations and rural clinical placements, and professional development for Professional Practice Fellows.

Named after a previous principal of the School, the Trust will split $15,000 per annum equally between tauira and kaimahi.

The Trust’s investment in both students and staff will ensure the fund contributes to student wellbeing, high quality education and improved outcomes for New Zealand communities.

The following list shows the Professional Practice Fellows who will receive support from the Trust in 2026 and what they will be using their funds for:

*            Charlotte Marshall: Attending the Hip Preservation Society Annual Scientific Meeting in Belgium.

*            Daniel Seller: Attendance at a two-day ‘Clinical Leadership in the ICU – Culture, Communication and Resilience’ workshop in Australia run by the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society.

*            Julian O’Hagan: Attendance at an Advanced Vestibular Rehabilitation Course in Hamilton.

The Dean of the School of Physiotherapy, Associate Professor Cathy Chapple, says she’s elated to see funds from the Trust awarded to such worthy candidates.

“While our School offers world-class teaching and research and is one of the oldest Physiotherapy Schools in the world, having been established in 1913, it is still a struggle accessing funding to continue our good work.

“This extends particularly to our Professional Practice Fellows, who can only apply for certain funding opportunities, yet they provide such an essential role as clinical supervisors for students on placement.

“That’s what makes the Billie McLeod Trust so special – it meets the needs of a community of physiotherapists who need funding opportunities in a way that directly leads to tangible outcomes they can immediately implement into the work they do.”

The Trust also acknowledges an important part of the School’s history through its namesake.

Billie Dawn McLeod (1929-2023) was a Dunedin local, who served as the Principal of the School of Physiotherapy for 25 years until her retirement in 1990.

Remembered by her colleague and a former Deputy Dean of the School, Dr Margot Skinner, Billie is described as being a passionate teacher, strong leader, and determined achiever with a generous spirit.

Billie began her physiotherapy training in 1949 at the New Zealand School of Physiotherapy, which was situated in what is now known as the Fraser Building.

After graduating in 1951, her first clinical position was at Cook Hospital in Gisborne, but Billie would go on to work in Invercargill’s Southland Hospital, before returning to Dunedin in 1958, where she became a physiotherapy student supervisor at the Otago Hospital Board.

This sparked her interest in teaching and so at the end of 1959 she headed to King’s College Hospital in London to undertake a teaching qualification, before returning in 1962. On the retirement of the Principal, Enid Anderson (née Gotts), at the end of 1964, Billie, now the Deputy of the School, was appointed Principal, a position she was to hold for 25 years until her own retirement in 1990.

“During her 25 years as Principal, the School continued to retain its high international standing, but it was also a period of major change in terms of funding, physiotherapist entry-level qualifications and postgraduate opportunities,” Margot says.

“Whilst the Otago Polytechnic took over the responsibility for the School of Physiotherapy in good faith in 1976 and graduates from the programme were awarded a diploma, Billie and the wider physiotherapy profession still had aspirations for education and research opportunities that the University could offer. Over the next decade potential opportunities were explored, with the Bachelor of Physiotherapy degree being rolled out in 1991, the year after Billie’s retirement.”

During her career in Physiotherapy Billie McLeod took an active role in community activities and the wider profession. From 1953-1965 she was a Lieutenant in the Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps and attended camps at Burnham with other health professional colleagues. She was a member of the Physiotherapy Board from 1965-1990, President of the New Zealand Society of Physiotherapists from 1972-1974, and later appointed a Life Member of the Society. Besides advocating for the profession to be degree based, she furthered her own academic study and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Otago in 1989 and a Master of Arts in 1996.

-Kōrero by the Division of Health Sciences Communications Adviser Kelsey Swart