Eunice Paten MBE (1901) (1883-1973)
Celebrated war nurse with a century-old link to the Junior School
When the BGGS Junior School opened in March this year, the School’s enduring connection to celebrated war nurse and Grammar Woman Eunice Paten felt set in stone.
More than a century ago, the site on which the new School now sits—directly across Gregory Terrace from Main Building—was home to a private hospital, Holyrood, which was owned and run by Eunice upon her return from the battlefields of WWI.
A dedicated servicewoman who nursed the injured and dying from Gallipoli, Eunice’s name is stencilled in gilt on an honour board in Main Building, with the alumna attending an official unveiling in 1949. But it seems even more fitting that the site where she once worked and lived should become part of the School’s footprint, ensuring her legacy will be forever remembered.
Eunice was born in 1883 to prominent The Gap pioneers, Jesse and Eliza Paten. She spent her youth in the grand homestead, Walton, a two-storey Queenslander with sprawling grounds on the site of what is now The Gap Village Shopping Centre on Waterworks Rd.
Historic moments seemed to punctuate Eunice's life, and her school days were no different. Arriving at Brisbane Girls Grammar in 1898, she studied under Headmistress Eliza Fewings, who was acrimoniously and quite famously dismissed by the School Board in late 1899.
When Fewings refusing to go quietly, media were called to the School in September 1899 to report breathlessly on `extraordinary developments', as Edwyn Lilley and John Woolcock arrived to escort her off the premises. In the ultimate act of defiance, the English-born teacher went on to establish Brisbane Girls High School (which later became Somerville House), kicking off a rivalry that echoes to this day. Eunice was among several students who left BGGS and followed Fewings to the new school, resulting in her being commonly and correctly claimed by both schools as an alumna.
After graduating from Brisbane Girls High School, Eunice trained in nursing at what was then Brisbane Hospital, in Herston, finishing top of her year in 1908. Further study took her to Melbourne to complete a midwifery course but, when war broke out, she volunteered to serve overseas.
Eunice was among the first four Queensland nurses who sailed for Europe aboard the HMAT Omrah, which left Brisbane in September 1914 also carrying the 9th Battalion of the First Australian Imperial Force, raised entirely of volunteers from Queensland.
Sadly, it would not be long before Eunice would see many of these young men again. Stationed in Cairo, she was at the 1st Australian General Hospital when streams of wounded servicemen, including many men from the 9th, were evacuated from Gallipoli in April 1915.
One of her descendants, Andrew Trewin, later wrote of Eunice, or Ness, as the family called her: `She would have nursed so many young men who were dying. Whenever I think of her, I imagine her being the last person a young man ever saw. I think she was hurt from all the losses she endured.’
Both her brother, Edward, and brother-in-law Gordon `Gordy’ Woodyard, were killed in fighting along the Western Front in the final years of the conflict.
Eunice Paten, far left, with medical staff who sailed with her from Queensland in September 1914 Photo: Australian War Memorial
After serving in Egypt, Eunice was transferred to England where she was shocked by the standard of practice and reportedly persuaded doctors to allow Australian nurses to take charge of dressing all wounds. She also served as acting matron in France in 1918 and was awarded a Royal Red Cross for her service when the war ended.
Described as `indomitable but kind’, Eunice proved to be a shrewd businesswoman and, on her return to Brisbane, became a prominent member of the Lyceum Club, a female networking organisation founded in 1919 for Queensland women interested in science, the arts and education.
In 1920 she purchased a two-storey building opposite Girls Grammar on Gregory Terrace and opened Holyrood Private Hospital with fellow war nurse Tessa Thomas. She ran the hospital for 16 years, closing it after the death of her mother in 1936.
Indicating the esteem in which Eunice was held at the time, she travelled to London as the lone Queensland representative among a contingent of nurses who attended the 1937 coronation of George VI, after the abdication of his brother Edward.
Again, controversy was never far away. Fellow Girls Grammar alumna, Matron Grace Wilson (1899) (1879-1957) was originally selected as Queensland’s representative, but there were howls of outrage from returned service men and women. They sent telegrams to the Defence Minister arguing Wilson was not a `true Queenslander’ because she had moved to Melbourne after WWI, while Eunice had stayed and become a part of the social fabric of the State.
As a compromise, Wilson was promoted to delegation leader and Eunice—who the State Government had originally suggested for the role—was added as Queensland representative. It must have been a slightly awkward time for the women, who were said to be good friends, having not only attended Girls Grammar together, but completed their nursing training alongside each other at Brisbane Hospital. They had plenty of time to discuss the matter, travelling to London via ocean liner together, along with other Australian delegates.
When WWII was declared a couple of years later, in 1939, Eunice was still a reservist, serving as Principal Matron, Northern Command, attached to the Military Hospital at Enoggera. Here, she was in charge of recruiting and enlisting trained nurses to join the Australian Army Nursing Reserve, a position she held until 1941, extending her service record through two world wars before retiring at 58 as a Lieutenant Colonel.
Throughout her military and civilian career, Eunice was a passionate campaigner for nurses’ rights. She was a member of the Queensland branch of the Council for Australasian Trained Nurses (1920-1948), served as the first nurse president of the Royal Australian Nursing Federation (1943-1948), and was a member of the Queensland Bush Nursing Association from 1922 until 1949. Eunice was also a foundation member of the Queensland branches of the Florence Nightingale International Foundation, the Australian Aerial Medical Services, and the College of Nursing Australia.
In 1959 Eunice was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her significant contribution to nursing.
The former Holyrood Hospital building was demolished 1971, with the building that currently houses the Junior School built in 2005.
Eunice passed away in 1973 but is remembered by many for her enormous contributions. In her later years, she returned to The Gap, building her own home on the family property Walton. Paten Park in The Gap was named in her memory, honouring her long service to her profession, her country and her community.
Full caption for HMAT Omrah image above: From left to right standing: Eunice Paten, Captain D Conrick, Sister Constance Keys (later awarded Royal Red Cross and French Medaille Des Epidemies, Gold), Captain Arthur Graham Butler (awarded a Distinguished Service Order for his work at Gallipoli) and Sister J M Hart (awarded Royal Red Cross). Seated: Sister Bertha Mary Williams (awarded Royal Red Cross)
Eunice as a young nursing sister
The first nurses to sail for WWI from Queensland were, left to right, Sister Constance Keys, Sister Bertha Williams, Sister JM Hart and Sister Eunice Paten. The women stayed in contact throughout the war, with Eunice remembering a rare meeting at a cafe in London in 1917 when they were all in the same city together. She said the four friends were so engrossed in their conversation, they didn't realise the air raid sirens had sounded until they looked around and realised the cafe was empty.
Eunice Paten was described as `kind but indomitable'
Holyrood Hospital on Gregory Terrace was purchased by the Queensland Country Women's Association in 1943 and demolished in 1971
References
Walton – The Gap Historical Society
Biography - Eunice Muriel Harriett Hunt Paten - Australian Dictionary of Biography
Ness led a dedicated battalion of carers | The Courier Mail
06 Mar 1937 - Matron Paten Honoured - Trove
27 Sep 1937 - War Nurse Who Attended Coronation - Trove
08 May 1949 - War nurse veteran - Trove
17 Feb 1937 - Seven nurses to go - Trove
21 Oct 1939 - What Women are Doing - Trove
24 Sep 1934 - DINED IN AIR RAID - Trove
19 Sep 1899 - THE GIRLS' GRAMMAR SCHOOL. - Trove