Sheila Woodcock, born near Newcastle NSW in 1931, was many things. She was known by friends and family as an avid horticulturalist, actress, traveller, chocolate appreciator, fruit cake devotee, raconteur, vocalist, cat whisperer, opera lover, friend, and aunt. Sheila was also an immensely generous individual, with a great love of community.

Sheila passed away in May 2018 at the age of 87, leaving an incredible legacy of $14 million for a total of 15 community organisations and charities. Diabetes Australia in NSW is honoured to have been the benefactor of one of these gifts.

Love for community

Second cousin, Kent Woodcock, said that Sheila was a woman with unshakeable conviction, great determination, drive, integrity, and love for her community.

“She had good business acumen, astutely managed her business affairs and invested wisely. She chose to share her fortune with organisations that were doing good work for others.

“Even during her last years, Sheila gained great enjoyment knowing she was able to support various causes. Now resting, Sheila will be satisfied in the knowledge her life’s achievements will continue to benefit the community,” Mr Woodcock said.

The Sheila Woodcock industry PhD Scholarship Program

Sheila, who lived with diabetes herself, left her gift with Diabetes Australia to support the development of scholarships that will advance Diabetes Australia’s research strategy. In honour of Sheila’s vision and generosity, Diabetes Australia has established a new industry PhD scholarship program bearing her name – the Sheila Woodcock industry PhD Scholarship Program. The program will help build capacity in the diabetes research sector and drive new research to reduce the impact of diabetes on people, the health system, and the community.

Thanks to Sheila’s legacy, the scholarship will support early-career researchers with creative and innovative ideas to address the research priorities and real-world needs of the diabetes community.

By embedding emerging researchers within the health system, health agencies, and industry settings, the program will foster cross-sector collaboration and help researchers build practical, translational skills beyond the academic setting. The ultimate goal is to accelerate research outcomes into real-world solutions that will reduce the incidence and impact of diabetes on people, health systems, and society.

To amplify the impact of Sheila’s gift and legacy, our industry partners will provide co-matched funding that injects additional investment into diabetes research.

Partnership with Western Sydney University

We are pleased to announce that the inaugural Diabetes Australia Sheila Woodcock PhD Scholarship Program award will be in partnership with Western Sydney University. The award will focus on understanding the economic costs of diabetes in Australia. This will help to quantify the scale of the issue, inform health policy decisions, and guide strategic investment to maximise opportunities to reduce the impact of diabetes.

The Sheila Woodcock bequest will benefit more than two million Australians living with diabetes and has significantly strengthened the Diabetes Australia Research Program, which supports leading researchers to investigate all aspects of diabetes and the search for a cure.