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ARCHIVAL ANECDOTES
THE VYNER BROOKE TRAGEDY 80TH ANNIVERSARY
IN A TIME WHEN WE ARE WITNESS TO THE DAILY DEDICATION OF MEDICAL STAFF IN OUR COMMUNITY, WE REMEMBER THE SERVICE AND SACRIFICE OF OUR WORLD WAR II AUSTRALIAN ARMY NURSES WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE SINKING OF THE SS. VYNER BROOKE AND THE LATER MASSACRE OF THE SURVIVING CASUALTIES AND NURSES AT RADJI BEACH ON BANKA ISLAND, INDONESIA, ON 16 FEBRUARY 1942.
The sounds of pipe and drum led the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the tragedy of the Vyner Brooke on Sunday 13 February 2022. A memorial titled, ‘Our Nursing Heritage: The Vyner Brooke Tragedy’, stands beside a large pool of water, surrounded by a grove of shading trees, each named with a small plaque for each nurse who perished. Situated in the City of Melville, a stone’s throw from the Swan River, it is a peaceful and reflective tribute to our lost nurses and their resolute belief in service and duty. On such a beautiful morning in February, it was difficult to imagine the horror that befell the World War II hospital ship, the Vyner Brooke, the last ship to leave Singapore Harbour before it fell to the Japanese occupation in February of 1942. One of the nurses who died on that fateful beach was an Old Girl of St Mary’s, Peggy Everett Farmaner (’30). The official collection record from the Australian War Memorial (P02783.007) states: “…Sister Peggy Everett Farmaner, 2/4th Casualty Clearing Station, Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS). She was one of 65 Australian nurses and over 250 civilian men, women and children evacuated on the Vyner Brooke from Singapore, three days before the fall of Malaya. The Vyner Brooke was bombed by Japanese aircraft and sunk in Banka Strait on 14 February 1942. Of the 65 nurses on board, 12 were lost at sea and 32 survived the sinking and were captured as Prisoners of War (POWs) of whom eight later died
during captivity. Sister Farmaner, aged 29, was one of the remaining 22 nurses who also survived the sinking and were washed ashore on Radji Beach, Banka Island, where they surrendered to the Japanese, along with 25 British soldiers. On 16 February 1942 the group was massacred; the soldiers were bayoneted, and the nurses were ordered to march into the sea where they were shot. Only Sister Vivian Bullwinkel and a British soldier survived the massacre. Both were taken POW, but only Sister Bullwinkel survived the war [and later gave evidence at the Tokyo War Crimes Trials in 1946].” Peggy Everett Farmaner was born on 8 March 1913 and lived at Lapsley Road Claremont with her parents, George and Flora, and her sisters, Eileen and Molly. Peggy attended Methodist Ladies’ College from 1919 to 1925 and transferred to St Mary’s in West Perth from 1926 to 1930. She was a School Prefect in 1929 and 1930, and won the Form V1b Prize, awarded to girls who achieved 75 per cent or above in marks for the year. She gained a Junior and Leaving Certificate, which included English, Mathematics B, Drawing and Latin. A year after her graduation, it was noted in the Almerta of 1931, that “Peggy Farmaner went North during the year as governess to some station children”. Peggy was already a qualified nurse by the time World War II broke out, and she enlisted for service as an Army nurse in 1940. Peggy’s family and friends were greatly affected by her tragic and cruel passing. Her mother dedicated and donated a memorial entrance table to the St Mary’s West Perth Church, which is now housed in the entrance to the Chapel of St Mary at the School. We remember her on every occasion that we are in the Chapel, as we pass what is affectionately known as ‘Peggy’s table’. We also honoured her when the School flag was placed on Peggy’s memorial tree at the 80th anniversary of the tragedy. Later, after respectful song and lamentation, a white dove of peace was released into the brilliantly blue sky and we quietly spoke the eternal words together, ‘lest we forget’.
Stephanie Neille, Archivist
ABOVE: St Mary’s Archivist, Stephanie Neille, placed the School flag on a tree dedicated to Peggy during the 80th anniversary commemoration of the Vyner Brooke Tragedy. LEFT: The 80th anniversary of the Vyner Brooke Tragedy was commemorated at Point Walter Reserve on 13 February 2022.
