This is the true story of an Australian World War II nursing hero known as Sister Viv. I picked this up because my father worked with Sister Viv’s brother, John Bullwinkel, at the bank in Adelaide in the 1960s. When I realised there was a family connection, I wanted to know more.
Sister Viv was also the first woman to have her own statue at the Australian War Memorial. Until last year, there were statues of donkeys and dogs, but no women. Thankfully that’s been corrected now.
Vivian grew up in Broken Hill and signed up to the Australian Army nursing service in 1941. She was stationed in Singapore, and when Singapore fell, 64 Australian Army nurses were evacuated on a small steamer called the Vyner Brooke.
The Vyner Brook was making a dash for Sumatra when it was heavily bombed and sunk by the Japanese. Twelve Australian nurses died that day, but after a gruelling ordeal in the water for more than two days, Vivian made it ashore to Bangka Island with a group of other survivors. Their initial relief at being on dry land was soon tempered by the fact that they had no food or drinking water, and the island was already occupied by the Japanese. They had no choice but to surrender. Japanese soldiers arrived at the beach a few hours later.
What happened next shocked Australia. First, all the men were taken away and bayonetted or shot within earshot of the nurses. Then 21 Australian nurses and one civilian woman were massacred on the beach. According to Vivian, they were ordered to wade into the sea and shot from behind. Vivian Bullwinkel was the sole survivor of that massacre.
Vivian was a prisoner of war under the Japanese for the next three and a half years. She used all her ingenuity and determination to survive and to care for those around her. For the rest of her life, she was devoted to honouring the memory of her fallen friends. She kept her army uniform with the bullet hole, and you can see it today at the Australian War Memorial.
Grantlee Kieza has done a wonderful job of telling this remarkable story of a remarkable woman in vivid detail.
It’s a story that shouldn’t be forgotten, but it is a distressing one at times too.
-Katrina Roe, RRL
