Welcome back. Well they say history is written by the victors but our mob are continuing to research and rewrite our history since colonization and now a new project is hoping to collect the stories about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses going back to Federation. NITV News Queensland correspondent David Little has more. Dr Odette Best knows firsthand what it's like to be a nurse. It can be challenging, but incredibly satisfying.
Now she's started a history project researching Aboriginal nursing, midwifery and psychiatric nursing in decades gone by, when caring for the sick was often sheer hard work. In particular, I was very interested in the women who went into nursing and midwifery when we were under acts of administration such as segregation and protectionism. Odette Best has uncovered about two dozen Aboriginal nurses so far, and of course there were... were always traditional healers using bush medicine. But she says many Aboriginal nurses hid their identity, claiming to be Italian or Indian, so they could start a nursing career.
By absolutely no stretch of the imagination are they excluded from this resource. at all because we do know that a lot of women had to deny Aboriginality to be able to pursue their goals and their dreams of becoming a nurse or midwife or psychiatric nurse. As well as Aboriginal nurses and midwives working around Australia, Adette Best has, with the help of IATSIS in Canberra, recently started unearthing the history of Aboriginal nurses during wartime. Mick Dodson said to me that he had heard a snippet of information about two Aboriginal women who were based in Crete. Dr Odette Best would like to hear from anyone with stories of Aboriginal nursing, with plans for an exhibition and book once the project has ended.
David Little, NITV News, Brisbane.