| Pauline O'Regan | |
| Order: | Principal of Villa Maria College |
| Term Start: | 1950 |
| Term End: | 1966 |
| Order2: | Principal of Mercy College, Timaru |
| Term Start2: | 1967 |
| Term End2: | 1968 |
| Birth Name: | Pauline Margaret O'Regan |
| Birth Date: | 28 June 1922 |
| Birth Place: | Reefton, New Zealand |
| Death Place: | Christchurch, New Zealand |
Pauline Margaret O'Regan (28 June 1922 – 2 May 2019) was a New Zealand school teacher, community worker and writer.
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. 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.[5] 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.[6]
Books written by O'Regan include: