History of Nursing in South Australia

Ruth Harrington, nee Meredith, was born in England and came to South Australia in infancy with her parents. She grew up at Barmera and Cobdobla on the River Murray and completed schooling at Woodlands. Ruth commenced nursing training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1942 and completed the course in 1945. After three months experience at the Adelaide Children's Hospital she was called up for duty in the Australian Army Nursing Service and served for two years until her marriage. Ruth maintained her registration and worked in several country hospitals. In 1968 she did a refresher course at the RAH and subsequently co-ordinated other refresher courses for nurses re-entering the workforce. In 1975 she joined the staff of Sturt College, where the first tertiary nursing course began in that year.