Marking 140 years of caring for Australians

On 17th February 1885, the first members of the Melbourne District Nursing Society - later RDNS and now Bolton Clarke – met, establishing home nursing in Australia. This year, with a dedicated team of more than 16,000, we’re celebrating 140 years of caring for Australians.

Since our early beginnings to present day, we’ve been there at defining moments in Australian history – from the frontline to the forefront of care. And as the needs of our communities have changed, we’ve changed with them.?

When our first nurse stepped out onto Melbourne’s streets, she formed the entire workforce of the then Melbourne District Nursing Society. Her first challenge was a typhoid epidemic that had lingered in the searing summer heat. She travelled on foot, bringing relief and nursing care to those who otherwise had no access to services.

As demand grew, more nurses were employed, making the transition from foot to pedal power to meet growing need. Dame Nellie Melba, a staunch advocate of community nursing, performed at fundraisers. The Prime Minister’s Wife, Pattie Deakin, volunteered and helped with the care, doing home visits to some of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods.

At around the same time, General William Kinsey Bolton –a respected leader recently returned from Gallipoli – was advocating for new ways of meeting the specific needs of returning veterans who had endured the horrors of the Great War. He became the first president of the Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League of Australia (later the RSL), which rallied public support for the establishment of veteran homes.

Over the generations, Australia’s population and its needs changed even further - and services evolved to support them.

We’ve come a long way in 140 years. Our teams have worked through the Great Depression and two world wars and have successfully managed outbreaks of SARS, HIV/AIDS, MERS, Swine Flu and Zika while dealing with a rapidly increasing number of natural disasters and weather events, from bushfires to floods and cyclones.

What started in 1885 with a single nurse has become so much more thanks to the generosity, kindness and determination of the people who have shaped Bolton Clarke. Then and now, we celebrate the teams who have provided care in extraordinary circumstances and who continue to make a difference every day for our clients and residents.

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