Sister Vivian Bullwinkel & Australian Nurses Print Page 
The monument commemorates Sister Vivian Bullwinkel and all other nurses who have served Australian in times of conflict.
The inscription is identical to the inscription located on the bust of Sister Vivian Bullwinkel in the Nurses Memorial Gardens.
Sister Vivian Bullwinkel (1915 - 2000) was Australian army nursing sister and prisoner of war. A victim of a war atrocity, Bullwinkel was the sole survivor when a group of nurses were machine-gunned by their Japanese captors on Banka Island in 1942 during World War Two. Eventually, she surrendered again to the Japanese, but made no mention of the massacre. She was interned with other nurses and endured a further three years of hardship and brutality before her release enabled her to tell her harrowing story.
After the war Bullwinkel was active in military and civilian nursing. She was involved in veterans’ affairs and with philanthropic committees. She married in 1977.
Poem by Paula MilesLocation
| Address: | Kapunda Street & Tarlee - Kapunda Road, Kapunda, 5373 |
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| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -34.338953 Long: 138.9166 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
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| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | Multiple |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Thursday 13th July, 2000 |
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Erected by the people of Kapunda to honour Sister Vivian Bullwinkel AO, MBE, ED and all the Australian Armed Forces Nurses who gave so much for their country in time of war
Unveiled by His Excellency Sir Eric Neal AC, CVO Governor of South Australia on Thursday 13th July 2000
"As you leave this sacred hallowed ground leave a flower
- Listen - Be not afraid for they will join you
The chosen ones that once proudly wore the scarlet and the veil"
from "Nursing Sisters of Veil and Scarlet"
John Sharkey 1998
