The Cann Valley community gathered last week to celebrate a remarkable milestone: more than 100 years of dedicated local healthcare provided by the Cann Valley Bush Nursing Centre.
The centenary celebration honoured a service that has been the backbone of the remote district since its inception in May 1922.
At that time, the nearest doctor was 60 miles away, making the presence of a bush nurse a literal matter of life and death for residents.
The journey began in November 1921, when a public meeting led by inaugural President W.F. Broome resulted in an application to the Victorian Bush Nursing Association (VBNA).
The service officially opened the following year, with Nurse Eleanor Rowe appointed as the district’s first healthcare provider.
Nurse Rowe, a veteran of the Melbourne District Nursing Society and a former missionary in India, brought a rugged resilience to the role.
In a 1926 account, she highlighted a skill set no longer found in modern nursing descriptions: the care of horses.
“A knowledge of riding and of the care of a horse is essential to a bush nurse in any of these way-back districts,” Rowe wrote, describing days spent grooming horses in the open and starting long journeys on “wet saddles” in the sun or storm.
The centre’s history is defined by distinct eras of management.
Following the initial VBNA period, the Anglican Church’s Bush Church Aid Society (BCA) administered nursing services from 1923 until 1963.
During this time, the facility was known as the Croajingalong Nursing Centre, served by legendary figures such as Sister Dorothy Allmond and Sister Ivy Gwynne, the latter of whom served the community for over two decades from 1940 to 1962.
After the BCA service ceased in 1963, the community faced a period without a local nurse.
However, a serious logging accident involving local man Ian Quick on the old Wingan track in 1968 served as a catalyst for revival.
A unanimous public vote decided to raise the $27,500 required to build a new centre under the VBNA.
Mr Quick, who attended the centenary celebration, became a symbol of the centre’s enduring volunteer spirit, serving on the Committee of Management for 52 years from the time the new facility was established.
The current centre at 27 Monaro Highway saw its foundation stone unveiled in April 1970 and officially opened its doors in July 1972.
It has since been served by a long line of dedicated nurses, including Barbara Blacka, Mary Filmer, and Coralie Haslam, among others.
Today, the Cann Valley Bush Nursing Centre remains a vital community-owned asset.
To celebrate the occasion, special awards were presented to those that have contributed to the growth of the bush nursing centre.
The centenary event highlighted that while the modes of transport have changed from wet saddles to modern vehicles, the “strong community involvement” that built the service in 1922 remains its greatest strength a century later.
