Sister Mary Theresa Martin (1881-1929) was an Australian nurse. During World War I she served in the 2nd Australian General Hospital, Nursing Service, which was part of the Australian General Hospital. [2] [3]
Sister Mary Theresa Martin (1881-1929) was an Australian nurse. During World War I she served in the 2nd Australian General Hospital, Nursing Service, which was part of the Australian General Hospital. [2] [3]
Mary Theresa Martin was born in 1881 in Rockhampton in Queensland, Australia. [4] She trained as a nurse and subsequently joined the staff of the Royal Newcastle Hospital. On the outbreak of World War I she signed up for active service abroad and was assigned to the 2nd Australian General Hospital. She sailed from Sydney on 28 November 1914 on Transport A55 Kyarra on 28 November 1914. [3] After the war ended she returned to Australia on 9 November 1918. She found employment at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, where she worked for the next ten years.
Mary Martin's life was probably no different from numerous others who joined and served in the Armed Forces in WWI. However, through one small incident – a memorable visit to the Great Pyramid of Giza – she left her name to posterity.
Whilst in Egypt with thousands of other Australian troops waiting to be deployed, Mary Martin visited the Great Pyramid of Giza and painted her name on the wall inside Campbell's Chamber, the uppermost of four chambers directly above the King's Chamber. The inscription, or rather graffiti, reads "SISTER M. MARTIN 2nd. GEN. HOSP 6.2.15" indicating that she visited the pyramid on 6 February 1915. This date is consistent with the deployment of Australian troops (for example the 11th Battalion) who trained in Egypt before being sent into action.
She died on 23 October 1929. She was interred in the Roman Catholic portion of the Botany Bay cemetery within the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park. [4]
The role of Australian women in World War I was focused mainly upon their involvement in the provision of nursing services. Australian women also played a significant role on the homefront, where they filled jobs made vacant by men joining the armed forces. Women also undertook fundraising and recruiting activities as well as organising comfort packages for soldiers serving overseas. Around the issue of conscription, women were involved in campaigning on both sides of the debate, while they were also equally involved in the New South Wales strike in 1917. Nevertheless, despite this involvement, women have never occupied a central position in the Australian version of the ANZAC myth, although since the 1970s their role has been examined in more detail as a result of the emergence of feminist historiography, and specialist histories such as the history of nursing.
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