Olive Dorothy Paschke RRC (1905 - 1942)

Born 19 Jul 1905 in Dimboola, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Died 14 Feb 1942 at age 36 in Bangka Strait, Netherlands East Indies

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Biography

Australian Nurses of the Vyner Brooke

Matron Olive Paschke RRC

Olive Paschke RRC is Notable.

Matron Olive Dorothy Paschke RRC was born on 19th July 1905 in Dimboola, in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia. She was the third of five daughters of Heinrich Paschke, a farmer and a station agent, and Ottilie Kreig. Dorothy helped on her parents' farm, attended St Andrew's Presbyterian Church (now the hall of St Stephen's Uniting Church), and played tennis and golf. She earned her nursing certificate in 1934 at Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital for Women and Children in Melbourne. Dorothy also gained certificates in midwifery and infectious disease nursing. ^[1]

St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Dimboola

Quickly working her way to appointment as matron, Dorothy worked at Airlie Private Hospital, Dimboola for four years before moving to the Jessie McPherson Community Hospital in Melbourne. ^[2]

Following the declaration of war, Dorothy was commissioned on 3rd September 1940 into the Australian Army Nursing Service. ^[3] She was posted to Malaya, to establish the 2/10th Australian General Hospital, in early 1941, embarking aboard the Queen Mary. Dorothy is reported as having been popular with her staff, patients and medical officers. She led by example, often working long hours beside her nurses. In November 1941 she learned that she had been selected for promotion to Principal Matron, Malaya. In January 1942 she was sent to Singapore to help convert a school into a 200-bed hospital. Soon her hospital was converting nearby buildings and treating up to 600 patients at a time. She was recognised with the Royal Red Cross award in January 1942. ^[4]

Vyner Brooke commemorative coin

Matron Olive Paschke RRC was murdered at the Netherlands East Indies during the Second World War.

In February 1942, Olive and Irene Drummond were the matrons supervising 63 nurses when, as it became clear that Singapore was going to fall, they were all sent back to Australia on the SS Vyner Brooke carrying 181 passengers, including many women and children. ^[5] Olive helped to cook meals, gave instruction in lifeboat drill, distributed life-jackets, and ordered the nurses to prepare dressings and bandages. Two days out of Singapore, on 14th February 1942, Japanese aircraft bombed and machine-gunned the ship in the Bangka Strait, Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia). Singapore fell the following night. Olive's life raft never reached land, and all its passengers were considered lost at sea, presumed drowned. ^[6] She was just 36 years of age. Twenty-two of her colleagues, Australian nurses, who reached land were executed by Japanese soldiers in the Bangka Island massacre. ^[7] A further 32 were made prisoners of war, of whom eight died in captivity. ^[8] The dreadful event and struggle for survival was commemorated on its 75th anniversary, on 14th February 2017, through a special commemorative 20 cent coin released by the Royal Australian Mint. ^[1]

Olive Paschke was posthumously awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal by the International Red Cross Committee in 1951. ^[9]

Matron Olive Paschke Memorial Sundial

The Matron Paschke Memorial Sundial at her alma mater in Dimboola was dedicated in 1949. ^[10] Each year, about ANZAC Day, a pupil at the Dimboola School tells an assembly of students the story of Olive Paschke's life. Olive Dorothy Paschke's name is located at panel 96 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, and is also inscribed on the Kranji War Memorial in Singapore. ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} McCarthy, Janice. 'Paschke, Olive Dorothy (1905–1942)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2000, accessed online 1 Mar 2019
2. ↑ Wikipedia profile: Olive Dorothy Paschke; accessed 1 Mar 2019
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: VFX38812 Matron (Major) Olive Dorothy Paschke; accessed 1 Mar 2019
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial Honours and Awards: VFX38812 Matron (Major) Olive Dorothy Paschke; accessed 1 Mar 2019
5. ↑ Australian War Memorial: Sinking of the Vyner Brooke; accessed 2 Jun 2019
6. ↑ Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour: VFX38812 Matron (Major) Olive Dorothy Paschke; accessed 1 Mar 2019
7. ↑ DutchEastIndies.com The Bangka Island Massacre, February 1942, Black day in the history of Imperial Japanese Army accessed 2 Jun 2019
8. ↑ Australian War Memorial: Nurse survivors of the Vyner Brooke; accessed 2 Jun 2019
9. ↑ The Age (Melbourne, Vic.: 1854-1954) Thu 24 May 1951 Page 1 HONORS FOR NURSES; accessed 1 Mar 2019
10. ↑ Monument Australia: Matron Olive Paschke; accessed 1 Mar 2019