Nurses Memorial Centre - honouring nurses, past, present and future

NMC aspires to be:

• A leader in furthering nurse education in Australia through the award of scholarships
• A keeper of the history of wartime Australian nursing – the living memorial

The Nurses Memorial Centre was formally established following a public appeal initiated by Victorian Nurses who had returned from the Second World War. There were many nurses and others who worked hard to achieve this end. Among the nurses, we remember two in particular and perpetuate their memory by naming annual education grants in their honour. The first was Betty Jeffrey, OAM, who wrote the book White Coolies based on the secret diary she kept of her experiences as a prisoner of war on Sumatra from 1942-1945. The second was Vivian Bullwinkel. These nurses, together with those who returned home from captivity had a vision to establish the Centre as a living memorial to those who had perished.

Purchasing a property in St Kilda Road, they not only provided brief periods of accommodation for returned nurses, but also drew together in one the growing professional organizations including the now Australian Nursing Federation, Nurses Board of Victoria and the Royal College of Nursing, Australia. Thus the site in St Kilda Road became the focal point for the growth of professional nursing organizations. As these professional organizations grew, they moved to larger premises. Today the Centre is a charitable not-for-profit organization that receives no government funding or grants and maintains its activities primarily through investment income, donations and bequests.

As a living memorial, the major aim of the Centre is the advancement of the health of the community through the provision of education grants. The Centre offers education grants to Victorian nurses and midwives who possess a strong motivation and drive to undertake postgraduate studies with the anticipation that the additional skills and experience gained will benefit the broader health and well being of the community. Since its inception the Centre has provided almost $2 million, in today's dollar terms, to further the education of nurses and midwives in Victoria.

Who is the NMC?

NMC is a ‘living memorial’ to the heroism and sacrifice of Australian nurses who gave their life or spent years in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps during World War II.

• Living, because out of the extraordinary sacrifice of these women, was born a desire to support the professionalism and specialised skills of nurses into the future

• Memorial because its mission is Honouring nurses past, present and future

NMC will ensure we do not forget the sacrifice of the many nurses who have died in wars and conflicts either before or since 78 Australian nurses died on active duty in the Second World War

NMC has the dual role of being a keeper of the archives of its unique history and being a responsible steward for the award of scholarship funds to outstanding nursing graduates.

For more information about our scholarships, please go to the NMC website: www.nursesmemorialcentre.org.au

Email enquiries: enquiries@nursesmemorialcentre.org.au