The scholarship was established in 2010 by a bequest from the estate of Zoe Ann Burnett, in memory of her grandfather the late Dr Alfred Midgley, and it is supported annually from the income of her estate. Dr Alfred Midgley contributed to many aspects of early Queensland life. He was a member of the ninth Queensland parliament, an early published Queensland poet, and a minister in the Methodist Church. Zoe Ann Burnett graduated in Arts from The University of Queensland in 1948 and was awarded a Masters of Literary Studies in 1989.