Vivian Bullwinkel

Vivian Bullwinkel (1915–2000) was an Australian Army nurse and the sole survivor of the Banka Island massacre in February 1942. After surviving the sinking of the Vyner Brooke, she spent more than three years as a Japanese prisoner of war before returning to Australia. Her testimony at the Tokyo War Crimes Trials helped bring those responsible to justice, and she later became a leading figure in Australian nursing and the commemoration of wartime service.

Blog post

Who was Vivian Bullwinkel?

  • Vivian Bullwinkel at Tokyo War Crimes Trials
Vivian Bullwinkel was the sole survivor of the massacre of 21 nurses on Bangka Island in World War II. She spent the following three and a half years in Japanese internment camps in Sumatra. She appears in An Attractive Naivety, and in reading her diaries, notebooks, and her testimony at the Tokyo War Crimes Trials in December 1946, I was struck by her extraordinary courage and leadership. Her story is told in my historical novel, An Attractive Naivety.
Newspaper article

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.

1945 'MASSACRE ON BEACH', Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), 18 septembre, p. 3. , viewed 27 juil. 2026, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134368323
Newspaper article

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.

1946 'The Japanese leopard with unchanging spots', The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), 8 septembre, p. 4. , viewed 27 juil. 2026, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231577023
Video

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. 

Producer
NFSA

Return to Historical Topics

Subscribe to Vivian Bullwinkel