Sadie Canning
Sadie Miriam Canning MBE (1930 - 2008) was a healthcare professional and human rights activist, a Wangkatha woman who became Western Australia's first Aboriginal trained nurse and hospital matron.
Early years
[edit]Sadie Miriam Corner was born on April 11, 1930 in Laverton, Western Australia. The daughter of Milba Morton, at the age of four she became a member of the Stolen Generation and was placed in the Mount Margaret Mission.[1]
Career
[edit]In 1949, Aboriginal women in Western Australia were barred from nurse training so Sadie travelled to Melbourne and began her nursing training at Bethesda Hospital.[2] She completed her midwifery training at the Haven Hospital in Fitzroy and infant welfare training at the Presbyterian Babies Home in Camberwell.[3]
She returned to the Leonora District Hospital in 1956. She was promoted to the position of Matron in 1958 until her retirement in 1990.[2][3] She worked to end segregation in the hospital and improve medical services to Aboriginal people.[2][4][5]
Awards
[edit]- 1964 - Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to nursing, improving facilities and indigenous healthcare in Western Australia[1]
- 1977 - QEII Silver Jubilee Medal for her service to country nursing in Western Australia[1]
- 2001 - Centenary Medal for long and devoted nursing care to the people of a remote community[6]
A Royal Flying Doctor Service plane, a Piper PA-31-310 Navajo C built in 1981 was named Sadie Canning.[7] A road leading to the Leonora District Hospital was named Sadie Canning Drive in 1982.[3]
Canning died on September 3, 2008 at Mount Lawley, Western Australia, she was 78 years old.
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Sadie Canning - super nurse | State Library of Western Australia". slwa.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
- 1 2 3 Goold, Sally; Liddle, Kerrynne (2015). In Our Own Right: Black Australian Nurses' Stories (1st ed.). Florence: Taylor and Francis. pp. 1–8. ISBN 978-0-9757422-2-8.
- 1 2 3 "Assimilation 1940s". Australian Midwifery History. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
- ↑ "The legendary work of Aunty Sadie Canning". RTRFM. 2023-05-30. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
- ↑ Lowe, Trish (2020-07-31). "Nurse education in Australia: Part 7". Australian College of Nursing. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
- ↑ "Australian Honours Search Facility". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
- ↑ "Aviation Photo #1232898 Piper PA-31-310 Navajo C - Royal Flying Doctor Service". Airliners. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
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