Friends Pat Alexander, Ros McCormack, Jenn Clarke, Rene Gale and Wendy Lupton.
Photo by
Owen Sinclair
What’s better than having a birthday?
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For retired nurses Wendy Lupton, Pat Alexander, Rene Gale, Ros McCormack and Jenn Clarke, the answer is simple: sharing it together after decades of friendship.
The five friends — who have been thick as thieves since their late teens — recently visited the Cobram district to celebrate their 80th birthdays and reminisce about their years as nurses in Melbourne.
It all started in the summer of 1963, when the high-school graduates found themselves training together to become nurses at Prince Henry’s Hospital on St Kilda Rd, Melbourne.
Decades later, the ladies told tales of the highs and the lows that cemented the life-long bond between them.
“We did experience things that were quite difficult to deal with,” Jenn, said.
“But there was always someone to come back and talk to and bounce off. And that is the foundation of the friendship that we later built on.”
The five friends enjoyed a meal together to celebrate their birthdays at The Bend Restaurant in Tocumwal. Photo: Wendy Lupton.
From treating patients with industrial injuries to cleaning up after their charges, the young nurses did almost everything to keep their wards running.
Working split shifts across the day and night also meant that the nurses’ spare time was precious.
Being paid a salary— even if only £2.6 per fortnight clear, including room and board — also gave the women a freedom they may not have enjoyed had they remained at home.
As Jenn explained, the friends made their own fun in and outside their living quarters and workplace.
It was something that often required a feat of cardiovascular endurance to return to their quarters before the security guard locked up shop at night.
“Between the hospital and nurses’ home, there was a tunnel,” Wendy said.
“The tunnel gate closed at about 12.15am, so you’d tear down the tunnel to get to the nurses’ home in time.”
Only a few years later, Prince Henry’s was demolished and replaced by luxury apartments.
The friends branched into their own areas of nursing, moved away and started their own families.
But that didn’t stop the nurses maintaining their friendships over the years.
It isn’t the first year the friends have journeyed from Melbourne and west Gippsland to visit the area and one of the group, Pat, who is well known in Tocumwal for her service there as a nurse.
“Even if there’s a gap where you don’t see someone, it’s easy to pick up where you left off,” Ros said.
From sharing memories of their time working together to now their 80th birthdays, the friends are looking forward to celebrating many more milestones together.
“We’ve all had big issues in our lives,” Jenn said.
“But we’ve been there for each other through those issues, you know, from forming that really close bond.
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