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Wilderness Times | Autumn 2021
STORIES FROM THE ARCHIVES
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In commemoration of ANZAC Day, the Wilderness Archives collection is currently featuring a selection of stories of Wilderness Women who served in WWII. As in all parts of Australian society, the war years had a significant impact on life at the School. It is both fascinating and sobering to read of the changes wrought across not only day-to-day habits but also across the campus. In 1942, the School Magazine records that
“ The biggest and heaviest job facing the School was the digging of the (air raid) trenches, which was splendidly done by fathers, brothers and friends of the children and staff.” Likewise, a Lower School poem confirms the ongoing threat of air raids that permeated the consciousness of the girls:
AIR-RAID PRECAUTIONS
Should you hear the air-raid sirens e, Screeching forth their warning not Take things quietly, do things quickly, Do not panic, little goat. Take your satchel, put your hat on, If you’re hungry, take your lunch. Jump down the trench in single file, Don’t start clambering in a bunch. Bob down quickly, hide your faces, ds, Keep quite still, don’t show your han It’s not likely you’ll be spotted, If you follow these commands.
School Magazines from this era are punctuated with references to the war effort and updates of old scholars serving in the Australian General Hospitals, Imperial Forces, Women’s Army Service, Voluntary Aid Detachment, Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, Women’s Royal Naval Service, and Red Cross Field Force.
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Many old scholars worked in munitions and other ‘male’ areas as Land Army girls, delivery van drivers, and bank tellers to release men for active service. Many served overseas, with at least eight women becoming superintendents or higher. In 1943, Miss Mamie Brown and Assistant Head Mistress Miss Miriam Powell wrote,
“ You girls are facing a great attempt in the building of a fairer, brighter world – the greatest adventure of all time and one in which women must take their full share.” A. Sisters Quinlan and Laffer with C.C.S. men. (1942). Retrieved April 29, 2021, from https://hdl.handle.net/10070/738850. B. A young woman assembling an oil tank for a Beaufort bomber in a ‘munitions factory. (1943). Retrieved April 29, 2021, from https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/ B+7798/433. C. Portrait depicting Sister Lorna Laffer, Australian Army Nurses Service (AANS), wearing ‘walking out’ uniform, Darwin, 1942. Retrieved April 29, 2021, from Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C176884. D. Adelaide River, N.T. Australia. 1942-10-13. Sister L. Laffer (right) and Sister E. Quinlan giving inoculations to members of area headquarters, at 119 Australia General Hospital. Retrieved April 29, 2021, from Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C10781.
