Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to highlight the important and courageous role that Australian nurses have played over the years in times of conflict. Today I pay my respects to women who went to war, risking their lives to care for soldiers injured on the battlefield. Many of these veteran nurses were young women at the time—often only a few years older than their male patients—and they left behind safe and secure lives in Australia to enlist in the defence forces to serve their country. Nurses have served in many conflicts, including the Boer War, Korea, Vietnam, World War I and World War II. They undertook their duty alongside their male counterparts, working tirelessly around the clock, often close to the front line, caring for the sick and wounded.

One of the most awful experiences of nurses is often commemorated at the Bangka memorial, which occurs at the South Australian Women's Memorial Playing Fields on the closest Sunday to 16 February. I know the member for Makin, who is here, has attended that service as well. It remembers nurses who, after their boat sank near Bangka Island, made it to shore only to be gunned down by Japanese soldiers, with only one survivor. So nurses have often served and have been in very dangerous situations but always showed care and compassion for those sick and wounded.

In particular, I would like to take this opportunity to praise one nurse today and pay tribute to her: Gwendoline Dinah Henderson, a woman who served as a nurse during World War II in the Middle East and later in Papua New Guinea. Gwen, as she was known, sadly passed away on 17 August this year at the age of 104. I would like to extend my condolences to Gwen's family and friends, because I know that she will be dearly missed. Gwen recounted some of her experiences and said that on some occasions there were over 100 new patients every night as she was serving, and often she was too busy to attend to the scores of casualties. There were often frightening scenes that she experienced. Gwen was one of the last nurses from World War II left in Australia and also one of the most decorated. Following her service to the Army, Gwen worked as a senior sister at the outpatients department of the repatriation hospital until 1968. She became vice-president of the Returned Sisters' Sub-Branch of the RSL and became a life member. Gwen was honoured with the Order of Australia Medal for her service to veterans in 2002. She is one of the only World War II nurses to have been honoured by a plaque on the Anzac Place memorial at Holdfast Shores. Let us remember Gwen and all of those nurses who served in conflict and provided comfort to those wounded at war.

See this speech in context