Recently another link in the chain connecting Greece and Australia was celebrated in Melbourne. A beautiful and poignant painting depicting Australia’s Matron Grace Wilson on the Island of Lemnos during the Gallipoli campaign – painted by Melbourne Cypriot-born artist George Petrou – has been gifted to the Alfred Hospital.
The handover took place in the gardens of the hospital, outside the historic Linay Pavilion. The hospital was chosen in recognition of its connection with Matron Wilson, who served as its Matron in the 1930s. Due to COVID, a restricted number of guests witnessed the gifting.
The Alfred’s Chief Nursing Officer Kethly Fallon was master of ceremonies for the event. She expressed the gratitude of the Alfred in receiving this donation, dedicated to one of its distinguished former Matrons. Ms Fallon recounted Matron Wilson’s war service and most importantly her contribution to the development of nursing and her connection to the Alfred. She acknowledged the presence of former Alfred nurse leaders at the gathering – Janet Weir-Phyland, Sharon Donovan and June Allen – who like herself have followed in the footsteps of Matron Wilson.
Ms Fallon described Grace Wilson as having been a leader in nursing, a woman determined to improve the standard of nursing wherever she went and who is remembered as someone who made a positive difference to the care of patients both in war and peace as well as in the training of the Alfred’s nurses. “In celebrating its 150th year, the Alfred is rightfully proud of the legacy of Matron Wilson and her important connection to the hospital”, she said.
The Patron of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee and President of the Returned Nurses RSL Sub-Branch Victoria Colonel (Ret) Jan McCarthy – the author of the Australian Dictionary of Biography entry on Matron Wilson – addressed the assembly, pointing to the key features of Matron Wilson’s service.
Born in Brisbane to Scots-born parents, Matron Wilson began her nursing career at Brisbane Hospital before enlisting in the Australian Army Nursing Service in the First World War. She was appointed Matron of the 3rd Australian General Hospital, whose nurses and other medical staff would serve in Egypt, on Lemnos, the Western Front and England. The hospital departed for war service from Sydney, calling into Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, where other members of its medical and nursing staff joined the SS Mooltan.
It was during their service on Lemnos that Matron Wilson and her nurses were exposed to the full experience of war. Located close to the battlefields, the hospital was faced with providing medical care from the moment they arrived to the thousands of wounded soldiers brought from the front. Initially they did so without even their own medical equipment, having to scrounge tents and equipment from other facilities on the island. In the months ahead, the wounds of war would be replaced by the illnesses and diseases prevalent on the Peninsula due to poor military planning.
Matron Wilson and the nurses also became afflicted by disease, some no doubt brought by their patients but others due to the environmental conditions on the island. Camped in tents on an exposed promontory by the shores of Mudros Bay, the nurses suffered summer heat and winter storms, as well as poor food and water. Many nurses – and other medical staff – became afflicted by dysentery and influenza. Two Canadian nurses at the nearby Canadian field hospitals died on Lemnos as a result of such exposure, Matron Wilson and other Australian nurses attending their funerals at Portianou War Cemetery.
But despite these conditions, Matron Wilson and the nurses performed exemplary service, achieving an over 97 per cent patient recovery rate and the praises of both their patients and their military medical superiors. The nurses who served with Matron Wilson praised her leadership. One of those nurses was Nurse Evelyn Hutt, who long after her return from the war would tell her family of the fine regard she had for Grace during those difficult days on Lemnos.
Matron Wilson returned from the war, coming to Melbourne where she was appointed Matron at the Alfred Hospital. She was actively involved in the returned nurse’s organisation – being President three times – and in various commemorative activities, including the Edith Cavell Trust and being guest of honour at the nearby St Kilda Town Hall, which was associated with another celebrated former digger who served on Lemnos –Mayor Albert Jacka VC.
While the war may have ended, she retained a keen interest in military nursing. During peacetime, Grace was Matron-in-Chief of the Australian Army Nursing Reserve and on the outbreak of the Second World War she was appointed Matron-in-Chief to Australian Army Nursing Service in the Middle East. Grace died at Heidelberg’s Repatriation Hospital in 1957.
Ms McCarthy noted Grace rightly received many awards in recognition of her military service – her military service medals, Commander (Military) of the Order of the British Empire, the Royal Red Cross (1st Class) Medal and the Florence Nightingale Medal. But Ms McCarthy pointed to the fact that Grace could well be unique in having been mentioned-in-dispatches for her war service on no less than five separate occasions.
George Petrou addressed the gathering pointing to his inspiration for the creation of his portrait, his viewing of the Lemnos Gallipoli archive of photographs – particularly that of Grace Wilson “doing the rounds” reproduced here – and my own research into Matron Wilson and the role of the nurses on Lemnos during the Gallipoli campaign. The unveiling of the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial at Lemnos Square in Albert Park furthered his conception, leading to the portrait we have today.
“The portrait draws on the image of Grace on Lemnos and the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial nurse created by sculptor Peter Corlett, adding the Australian and Greek flags, alongside an olive tree. These to me symbolize the essence of Grace – the nurse in time of war and the beginning of the Hellenic link to Anzac”, George said.
George Petrou has been working in the commemorative space for many years, producing many artworks celebrating the life and service of many of Australia’s service personnel, hosting their exhibition across Australia and most recently showcasing many of these in his new commemorative publication, The Art of Sacrifice.
Mr Lee Tarlamis OAM MP, spoke on behalf of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee thanking George for his amazing artwork and the Alfred Hospital for accepting this tribute to one of its former Matrons. In outlining the work of the Committee – and in particular its creation of the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial – Mr Tarlamis acknowledged the support of both George and the Alfred Hospital Nurses League, both early supporters of our commemorative work.
Mr Tarlamis drew on his own family connection to Lemnos, through the ancestry of both his Lemnian-born father and his Australian-born mother, the descendants of Lemnians and Australian soldiers who came together on the Island in 1915. He mentioned how he had walked on the very ground of the Turks Head Peninsula where Matron Wilson and her nurses had toiled to save the lives of their patients.
He went on to state that in honouring the service of Matron Wilson on Lemnos, George’s painting was particularly relevant today in the context of the great pride we all Victorians have in the vital role of the Alfred and its nurses in assisting the community during the COVID pandemic.
“Matron Wilson and the Australian nurses on Lemnos cared for the sick, wounded and dying returning from the horrors of the Gallipoli battlefields, suffering exposure to illness without complaint, and received the praises of both their patients and the military authorities. The Victorian community has similarly rightly praised the dedicated work of our nurses today,” he said.
He added that it was particularly relevant that the event took place during the celebrations of Greece’s national day across Australia.
“Matron Wilson’s story – and that of her nurses and the Anzacs who served on Lemnos – is the beginning of the Hellenic link to Anzac over 100 years ago – and Lemnos’ liberation in 1912 and joining with Greece was in many ways secured by the Allied presence on the Island, of which Matron Wilson was a part”, he said.
At the conclusion of the ceremony the Alfred Hospital was presented with copies of both Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed as well as George Petrou’s The Art of Sacrifice.
The portrait will soon be hung for all to see in the historic section of the Alfred – the Linay Pavilion – which contains an impressive staircase, stained glass windows, the original entrance gates and a commemorative dedication. A fitting public reminder of not only Matron Grace Wilson’s service but of the Hellenic link to Anzac.
Jim Claven is a trained historian, freelance writer and published author. He has been researching the Hellenic link to Australia’s Anzac tradition for over ten years, conducting field research in Greece and at Gallipoli. Those interested in purchasing a copy of either my own Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed or George Petrou’s The Art of Sacrifice should contact Jim Claven on jimclaven@yahoo.com.au
