Graham, Margaret (1860 - 1942)

Margaret Graham began work at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1891, becoming a charge nurse in 1894, holding this position until her dismissal in 1895 for alleged insubordination (see the Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 9). Graham was eventually reinstated in 1896 after a Royal Commission into the management of the hospital. Graham was a foundation member of the South Australian Branch of the Royal British Nurses' Association and its 'elected lady counsel' from 1900-1920. In 1914 she became the first lady superintendent of the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS), and was one of the first three nurses to leave Australia on active service for the AANS, Australian Imperial Force. For her role as matron with the AANS, Graham was awarded the Royal Red Cross (1 January 1917).

Related Corporate Bodies

• Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) (1903 - 1948)

Book Sections

• 'Graham, Margaret (1860-1942, nursing sister and army matron', in Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle (eds), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 9, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, Victoria, 1987. [ Details... ]

See also

• Durdin, Joan, Eleven thousand nurses : a history of nursing education at Royal Adelaide Hospital 1889-1993, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, 1999, 320 pp. [ Details... ]
• Healey, John (ed.), S.A.'s greats: the men and women of the North Terrace plaques, Historical Society of South Australia, Adelaide, 2001, 183 pp. [ Details... ]
• Hughes, J. Estcourt, A history of the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, 1967, 213 pp. [ Details... ]