History of Nursing in South Australia

Elizabeth (Bette) Uren was born at Maylands, South Australia. After gaining her Leaving Certificate she did secretarial work in her father's hardware business. From 1934 to 1937 Bette trained at Royal Adelaide Hospital, and then worked in the Out Patients Department, and later at the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science. She was called up to the Australian Army Nursing Service and embarked for overseas in May 1940. After ten months at the 2/3 Austalian General Hospital in Surrey the nurses transferred to the Middle East and staffed the 2/11 AGH in Alexandria. On return to Australia Bette Uren served in Toowoomba and Warwick. In 1943 she was appointed Sister-in-Charge of a Casualty Clearing Station which in January 1945 was posted to the Solomon Islands. Bette's final experience in the AANS was at the military hospital at Daws Road. She was discharged in 1947 and returned to the staff of IMVS where she remained until her retirement in 1969.