Australian Army Nurses
The Australian Army Nursing Service provided skilled nursing care to Australian soldiers from the early years of the Commonwealth through the First and Second World Wars and the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan. This topic explores the service, sacrifice and professional achievements of Australian military nurses at home and overseas.
The Camps at Belalau and Liberation
Belalau Camps, Loeboek Linggau, Lahat, Sumatra
Based on research by Judy Balcombe
An Attractive Naivety: Australia as a new nation in a complex world (Revised Edition)
An Attractive Naivety is an epic work of Australian historical fiction spanning the first half of the twentieth century. Through the lives of ordinary men and women, it traces the nation’s journey from Federation and plague to Depression, war, and uneasy peace. Interweaving fictional characters with real events, the novel explores the humour, hardship, courage and contradictions that shaped modern Australia.
Who was Vivian Bullwinkel?
On Radji Beach
Ian Shaw’s *On Radji Beach* recounts the sinking of the *Vyner Brooke* and the massacre of Australian Army nurses and other survivors by Japanese troops on Bangka Island in February 1942. Centred on sole nurse survivor Vivian Bullwinkel, it examines the victims’ ordeal, the evidence surrounding the killings and the enduring legacy of the massacre.
White Coolies
Betty Jeffrey’s *White Coolies* is a firsthand account of the Australian Army nurses imprisoned by the Japanese in Sumatra from 1942 to 1945. Based on her wartime diary, it records the women’s hunger, disease, forced labour and repeated transfers between camps, as well as the courage, humour and mutual support that helped them survive.
Rescued nurses to come by sea: recuperating at Singapore
This newspaper article reports the arrival of twenty-four Australian nurses rescued from Sumatra after more than three years of Japanese captivity. It describes their recovery in Singapore and records their reflections on life in the prison camps, including the Banka Island massacre, their resilience in captivity, and the dramatic improvement in their circumstances following Japan's surrender.
Massacre on the beach
This newspaper article recounts the experiences of the Australian Army nurses rescued from Sumatra in September 1945. Through interviews with the survivors, it describes the Banka Island massacre, their years of captivity under the Japanese, their resilience in the prison camps, and the liberation that finally brought them to Singapore.
Cinesound Review - first pictures of massacre survivors
An excerpt from Cinesound Review which shows footage of Australian army nurses in a Singapore hospital after their rescue in 1945.
Sentences from Court Martial trials at Medan
Sentences of courts martial in Medan received from Dutch authorities. Trials concerning the ill treatment of PW and internees including Australian nurses and at Pakanbohoe Camp in Sumatra
The Japanese leopard with unchanging spots
This newspaper article recounts the Banka Island Massacre through the eyewitness testimony of survivors Wally Cake, Ernest Lloyd, Richard Wilding, Robert Seddon and Sister Vivien Bullwinkel. It describes the sinking of the Vyner Brooke, the execution of Australian Army nurses, soldiers and civilians by Japanese troops on 17 February 1942, the discovery of the victims, and the evidence that led to two Japanese officers being charged with the crime.
This is Your Life: Vivian Bullwinkel
An excerpt from the series This is Your Life, hosted by Roger Climpson with Vivian Bullwinkel.
Vivian Bullwinkel interviewed by John Clements [sound recording]
Vivian Bullwinkel interviewed by John Clements on ABC radio 1980
Every Inch of the Way: Vivian Bullwinkel
Documentary made for the Department of Veteran's Affairs - Vivian Bullwinkel discusses her experiences in being transferred from one camp to another.