Now in its 62nd year, the Nurses Memorial Centre in Victoria is an important steward of Australia’s nursing history. By Linda Belardi.

During a lengthy and arduous imprisonment in Japanese prisoner of war camps during WWII, an idea germinated that would help build the modern nursing profession in Australia. Having experienced the significant loss of young Australian nurses, including 21 who were brutally massacred on Banka Island off the east coast of Sumatra, surviving Australian army nurses, including Vivian Bullwinkel and Betty Jeffrey resolved to set up a living memorial for their fallen comrades. The idea proved to be more powerful than they could have ever imagined. It became the seed for their survival and helped...