About Bullwinkel

The proposed new Division of Bullwinkel is named in honour of Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Bullwinkel AO MBE ARRC ED FNM FRCNA (1915–2000).

After surviving the sinking of the SS Vyner Brooke following the evacuation of Singapore, Bullwinkel was the sole survivor of the 1942 Bangka Island massacre and a prisoner of war for three and a half years. Bullwinkel retired from the Army in 1947 and became Director of Nursing at Melbourne’s Fairfield Hospital, devoting much of her life to:

• moving Australian nursing education from hospitals to universities,
• working for the recognition of military personnel, especially nurses, and the victims of war crimes,
• honouring those killed on Bangka Island, returning to the Island in 1992 to unveil a shrine to the nurses who had not survived the war, and
• highlighting the treatment of prisoners of war by Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Naming an electoral division after Vivian Bullwinkel recognises her dedication to honouring victims of war crimes and her service to nursing and the community, in both her civilian and military service.

This electoral division name also honours the contribution of military medical personnel and recognises those who were prisoners of war.

Source: Australian Electoral Commission