Landmark statue commemorates Australian nurses who served in wartime

Nurses who died serving Australia, were the victims of wartime atrocities and made sacrifices for their country are now permanently commemorated after the first statue of a woman at the Australian War Memorial was unveiled today.

Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Bullwinkel, who was the sole survivor of an infamous World War II massacre, has become the first female to be memoralised in bronze at the memorial.

Bullwinkel, who died in 2000, was posted to Singapore as part of the Australian Army Nursing Service in 1941 as British-led forces attempted to repel an attack by the Japanese army.

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After the fall of Singapore, 22 unarmed Australian nurses were brutally executed by Japanese soldiers at Bangka Island, east of Sumatra.

Bullwinkel was the only nurse to survive but was later captured and spent three-and-a-half years in a Japanese prison camp.

Following World War II, she left the army and became director of nursing at Melbourne's Fairfield Hospital. She devoted herself to nursing, honouring those killed on Banka Island and raising funds for a nurses' memorial.

The sculpture, created by Brisbane artist Charles Robb, includes 22 inlaid stainless steel discs commemorating the 22 women killed in the atrocity.

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Australian War Memorial director, Matt Anderson, said Bullwinkel's name should be known in all households, as should her inspirational life story.

Australian College of Nursing chief executive Kylie Ward said she hoped the sculpture would inspire children visiting the memorial.

"The sculpture will be a powerful and long-lasting symbol of nurses' selfless service to Australia and its citizens whether in war or in peace."

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