Plaque
'Honouring a brave Australian WW1 Army Nurse who gave her life caring for soldiers at the Quarantine Station during the Spanish Flu.
STAFF NURSE ANNIE EGAN Born 22 August 1891 Raised in Gunnedah NSW Died 3 December 1918 North Head Manly NSW
Unveiled by GENERAL SIR PETER COSGROVE AK CVO MC (rtd) former Governor General of Australia. Dedicated by ALLAN MILES OAM Operation Pilgrimage Group 22 August 2021.'
Interpretation Board
"Her life was sacrificed on duty"
Annie Egan DEDICATION
Delivered by Allan Miles OAM at the Unveiling Ceremony performed by General Sir Peter Cosgrove AK CVO MC (rtd) 22 August 2021.
There are few callings in life greater than service to one's country or community. With today's challenges associated with the Covid Virus we can emphasise with a young Gunnedah woman who decided to became a nurse. Annie Egan had the benefit of steadfast parents who were committed to family with both religious beliefs and community values coupled with a strong commitment to the newly federated nation, Australia. A pioneering family at a time in Australia's history beginning to establish an identity that would lead us to what we are today. Nine children - two sons and seven daughters, was a normal sized family in those days. Three of the daughters found their calling in the Sisters of Mercy here in Gunnedah. Two became nurses, those remaining worked the land. Despite the droughts and flooding rains.... they survived, and they prospered. So a young Annie Egan found a place in life that provided her with the love of family and community.. I call such a place "A Place of Belonging". The great War, which started in 1914 scarred our history forever. However it also provided the foundation of an identity which we are still moulding today.
MATESHIP- looking after each other. HONOUR to family, personal values and oneself. SERVICE to the Nation, to Corps to Community. That foundation is the Anzac Spirit, which is still the cornerstone of Australian society.
So when we read Annie Egan's history it is easy to see the true character of the young Gunnedah woman. Newly graduated as a nurse from St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney the call to service for Australia led her to enlist in the Australian Army Nursing Service. A service already with an established reputation of duty and sacrifice at Gallipoli on the Western Front. In June 1918 when she enlisted Annie Egan was not to know the Great War was drawing to an end. Nor was she to know that history had another page on how she would be remembered. As the guns fell silent on 11 November 1918 Annie Egan was perhaps rolling bandages when she heard the news about ship SS "Medic" arriving in Sydney with Spanish flu patients aboard. Volunteering to nurse at the North Head quarantine Station at Manly, Sydney, Nurse Annie Egan in her starched uniform, stood with other medical staff to admit them to where many would die. Egan assisted in providing what medical care was available to those in hospital.
Sadly she caught the Spanish flu. Despite the best efforts of he friends and medical colleagues she could not be saved. It is easy now to imagine Annie's pain. She realises she is dying. Her faith which has been a cornerstone of her life is he only comfort. But due to Customs regulations she is denied the "Last Rites" which she has repeatedly requested. She is buried in the cemetery at the Quarantine Station and two days after her death, a Requiem Mass was held at at St Mary's Cathedral. Her parents, sister and brothers erected a headstone which reads "Her life was sacrificed to duty".
When researching Annie's life we visited the Quarantine Station and located her grave and those of other victims of pandemics. The cemetery is a lonely but peaceful setting with spectacular views of Sydney Harbour. Today with the Blessing of the memorial by the Sisters of Mercy, we join with the many branches of the Egan family together with the Gunnedah community to recognise her service and celebrate her life.
LEST WE FORGET
Operation Pilgrimage Group Planning Team Allan Miles, Brian Gibson, Warren Chislett, Kevin Hutton Smith, researcher Alison McCallum'.