NSWNMA member Noeloene Brown thinks she might be Australia’s oldest Aboriginal nurse still working full-time. At 74, she reflects on a career spanning almost half a century – from shy young hospital trainee to veteran nurse deeply committed to her community.
Noeloene Brown had low expectations when she applied for an enrolled nurse traineeship at Kempsey Hospital on the mid north coast in 1977.
“Someone told me there was funding for an Aboriginal person to do some training,” she says. “Nursing was my lifelong dream but I had no qualifications – I left school at 15. I was very surprised to be accepted.”
Noeloene may have lacked formal education but she had plenty of life experience when she started the traineeship, at age 25.
She grew up around shearing sheds where her father Noel worked as a rouseabout. An uncle taught her to hunt rabbits with a .22 rifle and use a .410 shotgun. “I had the best upbringing,” she says.
Noel refused to accept government funding for 13-year-old Noeloene to buy schoolbooks and stationery as part of a program for Aboriginal families. “I’ll look after my children. I don’t need the government to support me,” Noeloene remembers him saying.
“He may have thought that if he couldn’t support his children, the government would take them. They were still removing Aboriginal children from their families in those days.”
Noel died of a heart attack at 43, leaving Noeloene’s mum Bertha to raise nine children.
“Noel ruled with an iron fist but I loved him dearly. Mum did a really good job of raising us on her own. She died at 62.”
Noeloene left the family home in Walcha on the northern tablelands and travelled to Sydney, where she found factory work. “I came home when I was 18 and married my husband Greg – and we’re still married today.”
At Kempsey Hospital Noeloene found the children’s ward had a separate room for Aboriginal children. They were required to use silver mugs – “presumably so they could be sterilised.”
“One morning I got up in the staff tearoom and said, ‘I forgot my silver mug.’ You could have heard a pin drop. The silver mugs disappeared from that day on.”
Bus crash
Noeloene was on call on the night of 22 December 1989, when Kempsey Hospital became the main triage and treatment facility for 41 survivors of Australia’s worst road accident.
Two tourist coaches collided head-on on the Pacific Highway at Clybucca near Kempsey, killing
35 people.
“I got a call at two or three o’clock in the morning to say, there has been a disaster come to work quickly.”
Medical teams with surgical capabilities were flown in to help Kempsey staff assess, stabilise and treat passengers who arrived with severe trauma, fractures and lacerations.
In 1979, soon after qualifying as an EN, Noeloene took a short break from Kempsey Hospital to help out at Durri Aboriginal Medical Centre (Durri is a Dunghutti word that means “to grow in good health”) which had opened in Kempsey three years earlier.
In 2002, Noeloene left the hospital to return to Durri AMC where she still works full-time as an EEN.
Her role extends well beyond her base at the clinic.
She is on call 24/7 to help community members navigate the healthcare system and explain medical information in understandable terms.
“Everyone knows me as Aunty Narn. That’s how I introduce myself,” she says.
“I make people’s doctors appointments and I make sure they’ve got the funding to pay for those appointments. If they need transport, if they need me to go with them, I do whatever they want me to do.
“I also know when to step back if they don’t want my help.
“Community nursing is something that I’m very passionate about. I just love doing what I do.
“I’m also a mentor on cultural learning for the junior doctors and registrars that visit Durri and other medical centres.”
Noeloene says Aboriginal medical centres have greatly improved health outcomes and reduced hospitalisations.
Fewer child admissions
She has observed a significant drop in hospital admissions for Aboriginal children, particularly for conditions like otitis media and roundworm.
She attributes this to preventative care and community support provided by the centre, which is controlled by the local Aboriginal community.
“When the medical centre opened, we secured funding to get medications to give to the mothers, so the children didn’t end up in hospital for long periods of time.”
She says community control of Durri AMC ensures that “services meet community needs, as defined by them”.
“We provide comprehensive support, including funding for specialist appointments, transport and accommodation, which is crucial for improving health outcomes.”
Durri AMC recently set up a social and emotional wellbeing team including community health workers and nurses.
“This is a big project that’s just started to take shape. It aims to support mental health including during sorry business (grief and loss) within the community,” Noeloene says.
She describes her career as “very happy and fulfilling”.
“I’ve done a lot, from assisting with hip replacements and knee replacements to helping deliver babies.
“I’m very privileged and very proud to be a nurse. It’s a career that needs dedication and commitment, and I think I’ve given that to the nursing profession over almost 50 years.”
Working towards reconciliation
The Association expects to launch its Reconciliation Action Plan in August to guide our reconciliation efforts with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
NSWNMA General Secretary Michael Whaites said the plan would provide a practical and structured approach to reconciliation.
It is being developed in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members.
The Association has established an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Member Circle and recently appointed two Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander councillors.
“While there is a growing awareness of the importance of reconciliation, there is an opportunity to deepen staff and member understanding and engagement across all levels,” Michael said.