Australian Heroines of World War One

Join us for this compelling lecture recounting the lives of eight remarkable nurses whose resilience, courage and skill took them from Australia to Gallipoli, Lemnos and the Western Front.
These women, represented in Susanna de Vries’ reprinted publication, Australian Heroines of World War One, had the courage and strength for which the Anzacs are renowned and the compassion and tenderness that only a woman can bring.

Sister Hilda Samsing from Melbourne became a whistle-blower when nursing aboard the hospital ship Gascon, outraged by the bungled evacuation of wounded ANZACs. She defied censorship and kept a very frank diary. Brisbane’s Grace Wilson, ordered to establish an emergency hospital on drought-stricken Lemnos Island, arrived there to find suffering ANZACs but no drinking water, tents or medical supplies. In France, Florence James- Wallace, Anne Donnell and Elsie Tranter nursed near the front line in Casualty Clearing Stations, treating soldiers with hideous wounds or blinded by mustard gas.

These are just a few of the stories that will be explored by Susanna in her talk which will bring light to the remarkable work of Australian nurses in the First World War.

Presenter: Susanna de Vries

Date: Tuesday 15 April, 12.30pm start

Cost: FREE, gold coin donation welcome