This ANZAC Day, we honour the memory of Sister Amy Dorrington, a remarkable nurse devoted to serving others on the battlefield and in the Australian outback.
Amy Dorrington was born in 1880 in the small farming town of Riverton, South Australia. She was one of eight children in a family filled with nurses - five of her sisters also became nurses. Amy trained at Burra Hospital and joined the Australian Army Nursing Service in 1915 at the age of 36.
Amy cared for soldiers in Egypt, England, and France during World War 1. She treated men suffering from injuries, illnesses, and what we now refer to as post-traumatic stress disorder. Amy worked in hospitals near the front lines, sometimes in tents, and even during air raids. When the war ended, she cared for patients until late 1919. Amy received the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal for her service.
Amy' s caring nature didn't stop when she returned home. In the 1920s and 1930s, she worked as a district nurse in outback towns across South Australia with the District Trained Nursing Society (known today as RDNS Silverchain). She cared for people in Clare, Marree, Farina, and Denial Bay, before settling in Yankalilla in 1929.
Amy became a beloved member of the Yankalilla community. She delivered babies, responded to emergencies, and cared for patients during influenza outbreaks and car accidents. People described her as “a true Florence Nightingale type. " In December 1934, Amy was driving to treat a snakebite victim when the car she was travelling in went off the road. She and the driver, Henry Stuck, were killed instantly. Amy was the first DTNS nurse to die while on duty.
Her death deeply impacted the community. Residents raised funds to build a stained-glass window in her memory, which remains visible today at the Anglican Church in Yankalilla. A plaque was added to the town's war memorial, and a fence was erected at Rapid Bay in her honour.
Sister Amy Dorrington embodies the spirit of ANZAC and the values we cherish at Silverchain: compassion, courage, and dedication.
Lest we forget.
Read more about Silverchain's legacy of care, connection and innovation here.
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