When Marjorie Davidson began nursing in 1959, the hospital staff still reused needles, scrubbed infected linen by hand and cared for patients inside iron lungs. Now living at Carinity Clifford House in Wooloowin, the former nurse has reflected on nearly six decades in healthcare as modern aged care workers mark International Nurses Day.
International Nurses Day is held annually on May 12.
Davidson started her career in Bendigo before moving into maternity nursing during the final years of Australia’s polio epidemic. Hospitals at the time had limited diagnostic equipment and far fewer treatment options for heart disease, infections and respiratory illness than today.
She remembered working in infectious disease wards where patients with tuberculosis and meningitis were still regularly admitted. One of the first jobs during afternoon shifts involved cleaning a large copper container used for infected hospital linen.
The work later took her far from Australia.
From Brisbane hospitals to remote Papua New Guinea
Davidson spent 13 years nursing in Papua New Guinea, treating patients suffering from malaria, chest infections, skin diseases and severe leg ulcers in isolated communities surrounded by mosquitoes and crocodile-filled waterways.
Medical supplies were basic, and disposable equipment was not yet standard. Needles were sterilised over boiling water heated by wood stoves, while her husband sharpened them by hand for reuse.
The former nurse said death was a regular part of life in remote clinics, with some shifts ending after multiple patients had died.
Her stories now form part of daily conversations at Carinity Clifford House, where younger nurses and carers work in a healthcare system transformed by technology.
Digital charts replace paper records
Among them is clinical nurse Swasti Gurung, who began her nursing career in Nepal before moving to Australia and joining the Wooloowin aged care home.
Unlike Davidson’s early years in nursing, Gurung works in a system driven by digital medical records, ongoing technology training, and modern lifting equipment designed to reduce injuries among staff and residents.
She previously worked in hospital wards assisting with endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures before retraining for aged care work in Australia.
Gurung said aged care nursing allowed staff to build stronger connections with older residents and their families while hearing stories from earlier generations.
The contrast between the two nurses’ experiences has become difficult for many younger healthcare workers to imagine.
Wooloowin stories preserving Brisbane’s nursing history
Davidson later became involved in disability support and rehabilitation services in Queensland before retiring at 75 after almost 60 years in healthcare.
Her memories now offer a rare look into nursing practices many Brisbane residents would struggle to recognise today.
Inside the Wooloowin aged care home, conversations about reusable needles, copper sterilising tubs, and tropical clinics sit alongside discussions about digital charts and modern medical training.
On International Nurses Day, staff and residents at the northside facility are reflecting on how quickly healthcare has changed across a single lifetime.
Published 12-May-2026
