Margaret Augusta De Mestre by Olivia Brook

 


Margaret Augusta De Mestre was a nurse during WW2, who worked on the HMAS Manunda which was an AIF hospital ship.  On the 19th of February 1942, Manunda was moored 2.5km southwest of the Stokes Hill Wharf in Darwin Harbour. That day, started off like any other, the harbour was calm and there was a clear, sunny sky with the temperature around 26 degrees.  As it was a hospital ship, the doctors and nurses including Margaret were onboard training, doing their rounds and attending to the many sick and injured patients on board. 

At quarter to ten, the buzz of a large number of Japanese planes approaching from the southeast could be heard in the distance. The noise was gradually getting louder and then at 9:58 am, all hell broke loose. Air raid sirens were set off and wailing loudly. Then soon after, bombs were raining like hail stones and going off all over the harbour. The noise was horrendous.  The crew, doctors and nurses on the Manunda quickly rushed to grab their helmets and respirators. People were screaming, watching in shock and running to take cover. At 10 o clock, a bomb narrowly missed the ship and exploded nearby.  Shrapnel pieces were sprayed across the deck of the Manunda, killing 4 people, including Margaret who was hit in the back and abdomen dying instantly from her injuries. She was only 26 and unfortunately became the first AIF nurse killed in action. This is the story of Margaret Augusta De Mestre.


Margaret was born on the 16th of November 1915 in Bellingen, New South Wales, which is located 4 hours from Brisbane or 5 hours from Sydney. From an early age, she was interested in nursing because her aunt was awarded a Royal Red Cross for her service during WW1. During 1935, Margaret began her training as a probationary nurse at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. In 1940, a year after WW2 broke out, she wanted to play her part and was one of the first nurses to enlist in the Royal Australian Nursing Corp. Throughout this role, she began working on Manunda.  With the outbreak of war in the Pacific and increasing tension in the top end of Australia, Manunda was ordered to sail to Darwin Harbour, to provide medical aid to the large amounts of military forces that were based there.

Margaret could have stayed in Sydney at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and continued to work as a dedicated nurse.  She would have been safe amongst her family and friends and still fulfilled her passion to help others. But as the Pacific war broke out, Margaret chose to enlist as an AIF nurse, knowing full well that she would be sent to active war zones and her life would be in danger.  

 She knew that all her skills and everything learnt would be put to the test and she would be dealing with lots of trauma and challenging times. No one would have questioned her if she had stayed behind as nurses were just as needed in Sydney.  But she made the decision to enlist and willingly sacrificed her life to help Australia’s war effort. That day HMAS Manunda lost a kind, dedicated and compassionate nurse. 

Thank you for listening 

Bibliography

Australian royalty: Genealogy of the colony of NSW (no date) Margaret Augusta de Mestre 1916–1942 – Australian Royalty: Genealogy of the colony of New South Wales. Available at: https://australianroyalty.net.au/tree/purnellmccord.ged/individual/I30900/Margaret-Augusta-de-Mestre (Accessed: April 7, 2023).

Warmemorialsnsw (2019) Sister Margaret Augusta de Mestre Memorial, NSW War Memorials Register. Available at: https://www.warmemorialsregister.nsw.gov.au/memorials/sister-margaret-augusta-de-mestre-memorial (Accessed: April 7, 2023).

Killed in action. - death of an A.I.F. sister. - the West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954) - 13 Mar 1942 (no date) Trove. Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47184579 (Accessed: April 7, 2023).

Margaret Augusta de Mestre (no date) Margaret Augusta De Mestre | Australian War Memorial. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1709850 (Accessed: April 7, 2023).

De Mestre Margaret Augusta NX70211 (no date) Aviation Heritage Museum. Available at: https://aviationmuseumwa.org.au/afcraaf-roll/de-mestre-margaret-augusta-nx70211/ (Accessed: April 7, 2023).

Margaret Augusta de Mestre (no date) Virtual War Memorial | Margaret Augusta DE MESTRE. Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/625596 (Accessed: April 7, 2023).


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