Bronze busts are underway for slain nurses

Bronze busts of slain local World War II nurses Dorothy Gwendoline ‘Bud’ Elmes and Caroline Mary Ennis are underway with expert statue makers Evalon Bronze. The busts will be placed near the cenotaph in Oxley, where the girls are named alongside soldiers of the shire who died on service during World War II. Caroline and Bud were among the last 65 nurses to be evacuated from Singapore on 12 February 1942 aboard the Vyner Brooke. The small vessel was bombed by the Japanese and sunk within half an hour. Sister Ennis was one of the 12 nurses who were lost at sea following the bombing while Sister Elmes made it to Radji beach where she was then massacred with 21 other Australian nurses, the only survivor of the massacre being Sister Vivian Bullwinkle. Bud and Caroline were from Cheshunt when they enlisted, however the families and the local group fundraising for the busts (Honouring Our Oxley Shire World War II Nurses) made the decision for the busts to be placed in Oxley rather than Cheshunt. “We felt that having the busts in Oxley would give visitors another place to visit in the story of where Bud and Caroline were from,” Sally Alsop, niece of Bud Elmes said. “The cenotaph is there and with the busts, they’ll know what the girls looked like and they can then continue up the valley into Cheshunt and see what the place they came from looked like and get a feel for it. "It’s really about adding onto what is already there, not taking away from it.” Niece of Caroline Ennis, Margaret West, was part of the local group prior to her passing in May this year and also felt that Oxley would be a good site as Cheshunt was part of the Oxley Shire in the 1940s. “Margaret was the driving force to have the original memorial tree, which was starting to perish in recent years, replaced at the Cheshunt Hall in September last year,” great-niece of Caroline Ennis, Michelle West, said. “It was originally planted in 1959 in memory of Caroline and Bud and we (the family) didn’t want the site and what it represented to be lost so we worked with (then) Cheshunt Hall president Lyn Lewis to have a new tree planted.” “Cheshunt is a massive part of the girls’ stories and we never forget that,” Georgina Banks, great-niece of Bud Elmes added. “In addition to the tree at the hall, there is also a plaque there commemorating Bud and Caroline, and the community at Cheshunt are passionate about continuing to mark the sacrifice of the two women in a number of ways, which is greatly appreciated by our family, and Caroline’s, and we look forward to working with them into the future to do so.” There is also a plaque at Northeast Health in Wangaratta and another memorial for Bud at the Corowa Hospital. Local donors and supporters have been instrumental in getting the project this far and president of Honouring Our Oxley World War II Nurses, Belinda Harrison, wanted to particularly thank everyone for their support since the fundraiser was announced. “The kindness and generosity of local donors has been amazing and we are so thankful for their contributions, we couldn’t have done it without them," she said. “We recently applied for a DVA grant but were unsuccessful, which was disappointing but as it turned out, we haven’t needed it. “We have received some other large donations that we’d like to acknowledge including the Connected Communities Mega Grant, Mega Ask; the Ladies High Tea held at the Oxley Shire Hall in May; the Australian Nurses Memorial Centre and Limelight Touring Co. who donated money from their performance of Shoehorn Sonata at Oxley held in May. “Whether someone donated $20 or $2000, it has all helped, along with the assistance and auspice of the Oxley Residents Association, who will maintain the site once the busts are in place.” Sally Alsop also expressed her appreciation to everyone who has donated in any way to the project and the small committee of local and nursing representatives who have worked hard in order to remember and honour these two brave young women. “I know my Aunt Bud would have been quite overwhelmed,” she said. Honouring Our Oxley Shire World War II Nurses secretary, Jan Vincent, said it’s exciting to have the project finally underway. “Evalon Bronze was responsible for the two wonderful statues in Myrtleford of Staff Nurse Elizabeth Rothery and Myrtleford-born Sister Alice Margaret O`Donnell,” Jan said. “Having a company who has produced similar busts is wonderful as they are familiar with nursing uniforms and their attention to getting all the details of what they looked like just right is appreciated by the families. “The Oxley Residents Association has been a vital part of this whole process and, as Sally says, we really want to include all the places that were central to Caroline and Bud and their stories. “We hope that our project might inspire family members of other nurses killed on the Vyner Brooke or at Radji Beach to do something similar in their towns and that the ‘nurses trail’ will continue nationwide as they came from just about every state of Australia.” Once the busts are completed and ready for installation, a date will be set for the unveiling and celebrations and community members and interested parties will be invited along.

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