Ellen Savage

As a child Savage attended Quirindi Convent school.[7]

Savage trained as a nurse at Newcastle Hospital from 1929[11] and graduated in 1934. She studied obstetrics at the Women's Hospital, Crown Street, Sydney, and mothercraft at Tresillian Mothercraft Training School, Petersham.[1]

She passed her midwifery examination in June 1936.[12]

In 1947 she won a Florence Nightingale memorial scholarship for postgraduate study in England, where she gained a diploma in nursing administration from the Royal College of Nursing.[1] Savage was the inaugural recipient of this scholarship for New South Wales.[13] Her overseas studies also included observational tours of hospitals in England, Scandinavia, and Canada.[14] Savage complete her scholarship studies with distinction.[15] The scholarship was supported by funding provided through a Red Cross appeal.[16]

There was considerable public interest in Savage's activities, and what she did, her presentation to Mrs. Roosevelt,[20] and for example attending reunions and presenting nurse trainee awards,[21] when she was taken ill,[22] and the launching of ships.[9] Reporting on her included when and where she went for holidays.[23][24]

Media attention to Savage's actions after the Centaur sinking was wide and varied in nature and includes presentation in cartoon comic strip format.[25]

Savage was presented to the British Royal Family in May 1948 while she was in England studying.[26] The public's interest in Savage continued after her return from her scholarship studies in England.[14][27] Reporting followed her to many places and on many activities, for example nurses outings organised by the Royal Queensland Yacht Club,[28] as a guest speaker,[29] meeting survivors of other war incidents,[30] and presentation to Lady Louis Mountbatten.[24]

Savage was formally described by the Women's Weekly as one of their Interesting People in 1949.[31]

Savage was the first guest at Centaur House. A sponsor provided her a car for the five days of her visit and stay.[21]

Public interest followed Savage well after the war, for example, at ANZAC Day reunions,[32] being individually noteworthy in 1983 ANZAC day radio programming,[33] and being singled out in AHS Centaur commemorations in 1995.[34]

The public's interest in Savage was an opportunity realised by her. Savage took many opportunities to support charity work, especially war related, for example Legacy,[3] or nursing related, and the Red Cross.[35]

She was actively involved in fund-raising that helped to establish Centaur House, Brisbane, an educational and social centre for nurses.[1] Of note is that Savage wrote an open letter while studying in England supporting Centaur House.[5] Savage was the guest of honour for multiple events for this cause.[35][36]

She was given a special suite on her stay at Centaur House.[37]

Savage was a strong advocate for nurse education, voicing her opinion that nurse education must be advanced to compete internationally, especially post graduate.[37] And she was actively involved in fund raising for nurse education.[38][39]

She was also an advocate for nursing generally, espousing the capabilities of married nurses, especially nursing with chronic cases.[40][39]

Savage participated in a film about the Australian War Memorial in 1977.[41] The film, Australia Remembers, screened in 1978.[42]

Savage died on 25 April 1985 after attending an Anzac Day reunion. She collapsed outside Sydney Hospital and died that day.[1] She never married.[43]

Sister Ellen Savage, Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS), being interviewed at Greenslopes Army Hospital about 7 or 10 days after her rescue from the hospital ship Centaur.

On 12 May 1943 Savage was one of twelve nurses who sailed in the hospital ship Centaur bound for Port Moresby to recover wounded military personnel. Two days after leaving Sydney the vessel was sunk off Moreton Island, Queensland, by a Japanese torpedo. A strong swimmer, Savage was the only nurse to survive.[1][2][4]

Savage suffered severe bruising, a fractured nose, burst ear drums, a broken palate, and fractured ribs. She joined other survivors on a makeshift raft and concealed her own injuries. She assisted the others, many of whom were severely burned.[2] She raised their morale with group prayer and recitation of the rosary, and supervised the rationing of scant water and food supplies.[1] Other records state she also had a broken jaw.[4]

Savage spent two hours in the water before being dragged onto a raft.[18][49] They were rescued by the destroyer, USS Mugford, thirty-four hours later,[1][4] a total of thirty-six hours after the sinking.[2][11][50]

For "conspicuous service and high courage" arising from the sinking of the Centaur,[2] in 1944, she became the second Australian woman to be awarded the George Medal.[1][4][10]

The citation for her award read:[51]

Although suffering from severe injuries received as a result of the explosion and immersion in the sea, she displayed great heroism during the period while she and some male members of the ship's staff were floating on a raft, to which they clung for about 34 hours before being rescued by a US destroyer. She gave conspicuous service while on the raft in attending to wounds and burns suffered by other survivors. Her courage and fortitude did much to maintain the morale of her companions.

• A long but incomplete list of newspaper and magazine articles about Ellen Savage