Thelma Weston was born on Murray Island (now Mer) in the Torres Strait in 1936. In 2017, Thelma was still working at Winnunga Nimmityjah Health Service, an Aboriginal community controlled health organisation in Canberra. A strong advocate for the Indigenous health sector, Thelma’s life-long career in health began at the age of seventeen. Having relocated to Brisbane from Murray Island with her family during World War 2, Thelma trained as a nurse at Brisbane General Hospital. After two years in Brisbane she joined the WRAAC and completed her nursing training. Thelma loved her time in the Army and said that what she loved it about it most was the comradeship among all ‘the girls’.

This interview took place on 16 December 2016 in Canberra and was conducted by Dr Allison Cadzow with Craig Greene as part of the Australian Research Council-funded research project Serving our Country: a history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the defence of Australia.

The interview recording above is made available to be viewed here by permission of the interviewee(s), Thelma Weston. The recording may not be copied, reproduced or communicated in whole or in part without the prior permission of the interviewee(s). Requests for permission for use of this material should be made to the Serving our Country research project: our contact details.

• Return to Thelma Weston’s participant page.