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Chapter 9
Townsville – Currajong
The new nurse followedMeg into her hut and looked around. ‘All this space for just the two of us? Nice.’
Meg pointed to her lower bunk. ‘Until the next intake of nurses arrive anyway. That’s mine. Take your pick of the others.’
Sister Geraldine Platt dropped her suitcase at the end of the bunk at right angles to Meg’s and flopped back onto the bed. ‘Every bone in my body aches. Overnight train trips sitting up are the pits, but that was two nights of torture. Ugh.’ She dropped her arm across her eyes like a melodrama queen and sighed. ‘Please tell me we aren’t expected to report for duty until tomorrow.’
Meg perched on the edge of her bunk, concerned that her cabin mate, one of only five nurses to arrive at Currajong early this morning, wouldn’t measure up to Dr Ransom’s expectations. ‘You have until morning tea to settle in, but then we need all hands on deck. Our first patients will be arriving after lunch, and there’s not much time to show you everything. I was worried it would only be me on duty to get them settled in, so I’m thrilled five of you turned up today.’
‘I peeked into the theatre on our walk-through of the house. It looks fully set up so why were you worried?’
‘Dr Ransom and I set it up. They were still building it when I arrived.’
Geraldine lifted her arm and rolled onto her side, resting her head on her arm. ‘Do you mean you were the only nurse here all that time? Goodness, how did you manage?’
Meg shrugged. ‘You just do. And the doctor is a really good teacher. This is my first posting as head theatre nurse, and I feel as though I have a reasonable grasp of my duties thanks to him. What about you, Geraldine, what’s your background?’
‘Call me Gerry. Geraldine sounds like my great-aunt and she’s a relic.’ Gerry rolled her eyes then grinned. For someone who claimed not to have slept sitting up on the train, she was vivacious and funny and for some reason, Meg’s qualms about her new cabin mate eased.
‘My great-aunt’s name is Augusta and she lives up to her name. Talk about taking the role of matriarch of the family seriously.’ Despite her occasionally judgemental comments, Meg felt affection for Aunt Augie.
‘Families can be so interesting. Anyway, you asked about my nursing experience. I worked in Brisbane at two different hospitals. General ward duties, a stint in theatre, and some time in maternity. It was the theatre work that sealed this posting for me.’
‘I doubt there’ll be much call for maternity nursing up here.’ Meg hoped she wouldn’t end up proving the exception.
Gerry swung her legs over the edge of the bed, hauled her suitcase up beside her and opened it. ‘I don’t know about that. I saw some hunky Yankee soldiers as we drove in from the station. I bet they’ve got a few hearts on strings already.’
Those Meg had met were clean-cut, with flashy, white-toothed smiles and bucketloads of confidence. ‘Perhaps. I met a few last night at a dance they hosted. They seemed pleasant. And Dr Ransom is friendly with one of their surgeons.’
‘Oh goody—inter-forces recreation! When’s their next dance?’ Gerry lifted a red dress out of her case and shook it, inserted a hanger and looked around the cabin. ‘Okay if I hang it here?’ She hooked it over one of the wall pegs.
‘That’s fine. Gosh, that’s pretty. And that beading work is exquisite.’ She moved closer to study the silver and red beaded bird sitting below one shoulder. ‘Where did you find it? I’ve seen nothing like it in the shops since—before the war I should think.’
Gerry’s eyes were bright as she ran a fingertip over the bird. ‘I made it. It’s how I relax. For all I complain about my great-aunt, she’s an incredible dressmaker. She’s also one of the biggest hoarders I know. You should see the dressmaking supplies she has in her back room, all from before the war, I hasten to add. Mum taught me to sew, but Geraldine taught me to couture up an outfit—her words.’
As Meg rubbed the material between her fingers, a quick thrust of envy stabbed her. She had nothing but a uniform to welcome Seamus when he finally came home. ‘You’ll be the belle of the ball in this, although last night, all the women—and there were few enough of us—wore uniform.’
‘Tch, we’ll convince whoever thought that was a good idea that it’s not.’
Meg shrugged, glanced at her watch and crossed to the door. ‘All I have are uniforms. Any personal gear I had probably got blown to kingdom come in Darwin. I’ll see you at ten hundred sharp for morning tea and a revision session on theatre procedures before I introduce everyone to Dr Ransom.’
Quietly, she closed the door behind her before Gerry could commiserate. If she was quick—and lucky—she could ring Dr Newton and find out how long it might be before he could do her pregnancy test. Until that was either confirmed or knocked on the head, pretty dresses and frippery were the last thing she should be feeling envious about. Thank goodness she’d left her morning sickness behind at Adelaide River.
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Meg stood in frontof her small team of nurses, marvelling that the simple fact of arriving a few days ahead of them and being personally trained by Dr Ransom had put her in charge. For all that she was young to be taking on such a responsible position, he’d reassured her and in his keen eyes, she’d seen his certainty she was ready.
‘All the nurses coming up have volunteered, but of those coming to us, none have what I consider to be sufficient training in an operating theatre. You will do a fine job, Margaret. I wouldn’t have asked you if I wasn’t certain you’d be a capable head nurse.’ His words had filled her with confidence, but now, with five pairs of eyes on her, she doubted herself. She met each sister’s eyes: Gerry’s were encouraging; Sister Thomas and the two nurses flanking her were attentive; and Sister Smith—there was something mean in her narrow-eyed glare. Meg sensed trouble ahead.
Sister Eva Smith had a chip on her shoulder the size of Sydney Harbour. ‘We’re the brave ones. I reckon what happened in Darwin frightened a lot of nurses. They want to stay safe down in Brisbane and as far south as they can get in case the Japanese invade.’ Sister Smith’s round, ruddy-cheeks and thin lips turned down in scorn. ‘Cowards, they are.’
‘We shouldn’t judge others when we know nothing of their circumstances.’ Sister Catherine Thomas had been quiet, but now she turned to Eva. ‘Not every woman is in a position to volunteer for duty close to a war zone. Lots of them have taken on the work our men were doing before they joined up, and others are raising their families. All of it is vital to winning this war.’
‘Hmph. Maybe not all of them.’ Unwilling to press her argument after Catherine’s calm response, Eva pulled a face and looked at Meg. ‘You’re young like us. Why are you in charge?’
Grateful that Gerry and not Eva had chosen to share her cabin, Meg pitied Catherine. Her quiet response was almost saintly against Eva’s brashness. ‘Dr Ransom has been training me since I arrived here a few days ago. As surgeon-in-charge, he made the decision.’
