Pauline O'Regan

Born in Reefton on 28 June 1922, O'Regan was the daughter of Margaret Mary O'Regan (née Barry) and John Joseph O'Regan.[1] She was educated at St Mary's High School in Greymouth, and entered the religious order of the Sisters of Mercy Ngā Whaea Atawhai o Aotearoa in Christchurch in 1942.[1] She professed as a Sister of Mercy two years later, in 1944.[1] O'Regan graduated from Canterbury University College with a Master of Arts in history in 1954.[1]

Between 1950 and 1966, O'Regan was principal of Villa Maria College in Christchurch.[1] During her tenure, the school roll increased from 48 to 450 students, academic standards rose, and she oversaw the building programme required to accommodate the roll growth.[2] She then served as principal of Mercy College, Timaru from 1967 to 1968, and was a staff member at Aranui High School, Christchurch, from 1973 to 1977.[1]

From 1973, O'Regan lived in the Aranui Community of Sisters of Mercy, to work in the community and train local women to become community leaders.[1][3] In 1979, she was a Churchill Fellow, travelling to the United States and Britain to study community development, and from 1986 to 1991 she was a board member of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust in New Zealand.[1]

O'Regan began writing in the early 1980s, and published books on subjects including community development and her views of the Catholic church.[3] She died in Christchurch on 2 May 2019.[4]

In the 1990 New Year Honours, O'Regan was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to education and the community.[5] In the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, also for services to education and the community.[6] Following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government in 2009, O'Regan declined redesignation as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.[7]

Books written by O'Regan include:

• O'Regan, Pauline (1986). A changing order. Port Nicholson Press.
• O'Regan, Pauline; O'Connor, Teresa (1989). Community: give it a go!. Allen & Unwin.
• O'Regan, Pauline (1991). Aunts and windmills. Bridget Williams Books. ISBN 0908912013.
• O'Regan, Pauline (1995). There is hope for a tree. Bridget Williams Books. ISBN 1869401328.
• O'Regan, Pauline (2004). Miles to go: a book to make you laugh out loud. Penguin. ISBN 9780143007821.