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Centaur Nurses MemorialPrint Page 
The plaque commemorates the Australian Army Nurses who died when the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was struck by a torpedo on the 14th May 1943.
Location
| Address: | Pine Avenue, The Coast Chapel, Prince Henry Hospital Conservation Area, Little Bay, 2036 |
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| State: | NSW |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -33.980426 Long: 151.249923 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
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| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | WW2 |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 14-May-1943 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 14-May-1943 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Wednesday 21st July, 1993 |
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In honoured memory of the eleven members Australian Army Nursing Service who lost their lives when the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was sank by a torpedo fired from a Japanese submarine on 14th May 1943.
[ Details of Vessel and Sinking ]
Of the 332 combatants on the ship only 64 survived the fiery inferno, the sinking and the awful ordeal of drifting on damaged or makeshift rafts through shark infested waters for thirty-four hours before rescue; in all 268 members of the Medical Staff, the 2/12 Australian Field Ambulance and the Ship`s Crew lost their lives. The sole A.A.N.S survivor Sister Ellen Savage somehow escaped from the vice-like suction of the sinking ship and although suffering from fractures of the ribs, nose and palate, perforated eardrums and multiple bruises tended the wounded on the raft with loving care. She was awarded the George Medal for conspicuous service, high courage and fortitude.
Members of the Australian Army Nursing who perished were:
VFX39205 Matron Anne Jewell
VFX 66028 Sister Margaret Adams
VFX 112 194 Sister Alice O`Donnell
NFX76581 Sister Helen Haultain
VFX 65924 Sister Ellen Rutherford
NFX76573 Sister Evelyn King
NFX119281 Sister Edna Shaw
SFX11679 Sister Mary McFarlane
VFX72536 Sister Jennie Walker
NFX125935 Sister Merle Moston
NFX138687 Sister Joyce Wyllie
They rest in the company of heroes having served humanity with honour and compassion
Lest We Forget
Unveiled by Colonel Coralie M.Gerrard, Matron-In-Chief Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps & Director of Nursing Services - Army, on Wedneday 21 July 1993.
This plaque presented by the Prince Henry Hospital Trained Nurses` Association in memory of their revered colleagues.
