Nurses

Rose, the youngest daughter of Reverend William Taylor, was born in Yorkshire, England c1875. Just prior to volunteering for War service in July 1915, Rose was Head Nurse at Inverell Public Hospital. Although she left the district before a farewell could be organised, the inscribed Inverell Medal... more details

Ethel was born to James and Johanna Watkins at Inverell in 1893. Her nursing training was completed in Sydney at St. Vincent’s Hospital. Shortly after passing her final exams in June 1916 she enlisted and sailed from Australia on HMAT Ulysses in May 1917.

After arriving in England s... more details

Margaret was among the first forty NSW military nurses selected to serve overseas during WW1. Assigned to Australian General Hospital 2 Nursing Service, she departed Sydney on the ship Kyarra in November 1914. This was the first hospital ship to leave Australia during World War 1.

After s... more details

Known as Lily or Lil, she was born in New Zealand in 1879 to Cornish immigrants James and Rebecca Eddy. Two years later the family moved to Australia, where her father became a farmer at Rob Roy, near Inverell.

After growing up in the district Lily eventually returned to New Zealand where... more details

Ethel, the daughter of Louis and Christina Bregenzer, was born at Bundarra NSW where she spent her early life until her family moved to Tamworth. During 1913 she completed her four year nursing training at Tamworth and passed the Australian Trained Nurses Association examination the same year.more details

Although Dorothy was born in Tasmania, her parents lived at Inverell during WW1. After training at Sydney Hospital she tried to enlist as an Army nurse and was rejected due to an injured finger. Undaunted, Dorothy had the finger removed.

In 1916 she was one of twenty non-military nurses c... more details

Vera's birth to William and Mary Mason was registered at Walgett NSW in 1892. When her family moved to Inverell, she and her siblings attended Ross Hill Primary School. Vera undertook her nursing training at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.

She enlisted in September 1917 and wa... more details

Ethel was born at Bundarra in 1880 to James and Margery Jackson. She trained at Brisbane Hospital and worked there before becoming Matron at Lady Musgrave Hospital, Maryborough, Queensland.

Prior to enlisting in May 1917 she worked with the Australian Army Nursing Service for six months. ... more details

Florence, a daughter of Patrick and Sussanah Maher of Inverell, passed the Australian Trained Nurses Membership Examination for General Nurses in December 1915 and was appointed Head Nurse at Inverell Hospital in September 1916.

By March 1918 she had volunteered for War service and was ex... more details

Hilda, the daughter of John and Mary Loxton, was born at Inverell in 1879. Before WW1 she worked at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children in Sydney where she was in charge of the Diphtheria ward.

In 1916 she applied to be a Red Cross nurse and, with her friend Minnie Hough, was one of... more details

Valetta, the daughter of Edwin and Elizabeth Horswill, was born in the Inverell district in 1890. Her sister, Elsie, and brothers Vernon and James were also born in the district where their Cornish born father was involved in the mining industry. Some time before 1900 the family moved to Western ... more details

Annie, who was born in Queensland in 1888, was the eldest of eight children born to James and Mary Clarkson. It is not known where she completed her nursing training, however in 1917 she was Matron at Inverell District Hospital. 

The Inverell Times newspaper, 24 December 1917 reporte... more details

Mabel was born in Queensland, the youngest child of Hugh and Matilda Campbell.  After training at the Coast Hospital in Sydney she worked at the Inverell District Hospital before becoming part owner of the Private Hospital known as ‘Craignish’.

At the age of thirty one Ma... more details

Jessie’s birth in 1886 to Robert and Margaret Cameron was registered at Inverell.  She trained at the Coast Hospital in Sydney and became a member of the Australian Trained Nurses Association. Prior to enlistment for overseas service in June 1916, Jessie worked for nine months at the A... more details

Recent research has uncovered a number of Inverell district nurses who served during World War 1.

Nurse Mabel Campbell enlisted in August 1915, and although not the first Inverell nurse to go to the War, she was the first nurse to be given an official farewell at the Town Hall and to be p... more details

Rita Ahern was the daughter of William and Hannah Ahern, of the Oxford Hotel, Inverell. She was born at Inverell and trained as a nurse at St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney.

During December 1916, Rita was one of many nurses to pass the general membership examination of the Australian Trained... more details

Agnes trained as a nurse at Armidale Hospital NSW, and gained membership of the Australian Trained Nurses Association in 1915. She was Matron at Singleton Hospital NSW when, in March 1917, she was appointed Matron of the Inverell Hospital.

By July 1917, Agnes had been accepted by the Mili... more details

Sarah's family came to the Inverell dsitrict in 1898 when she was just fourteen. The family settled at the property 'Victoria Park' Mt. Russell. Sarah trained as a nurse at Sydney Hospital and worked at the AIF Liverpool Camp for approximately thirteen months before her appointment to the Austral... more details

Nurse Gordon, the daughter of James and Emily Gordon, was born in 1882 at Long Gully in Victoria. She completed her training at the Children's Hospital in Melbourne.  It is not known where she worked until just prior to her enlistment on 10 November 1915 when, according to the Tamworth Daily... more details

Ivy, the daughter of William Thomas Little, was born in the Uralla district NSW. She trained at the Bundarra Hospital where she was the first probationer appointed after the hospital opened in 1912.

Ivy enlisted in September 1917. As a Staff Nurse she sailed from Australia per SS Wiltshir... more details