International Nurses Day marks opening of historic exhibition 

 
 
Associate Professor of Nursing, Dr Peter Brown with three of CDU's nursing students

Charles Darwin University’s Nursing Museum hosted its annual celebration of International Nurses Day with an exhibition that traces and celebrates nursing and nurses in the Northern Territory.

The Chief Executive, Jeff Moffett, opened the exhibition entitled “Darwin’s First Matron and the Nightingale Role Today” at a recent ceremony on CDU’s Casuarina campus.

Housed within the Faculty of Engineering, Health, Science and Environment, the NT Nursing Museum is an extensive collection of nursing artifacts, historical photographs and archival material.

Coinciding with the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, International Nurses Day is celebrated worldwide to mark the invaluable contributions nurses make to society.

Senior Lecturer in Health Sciences and Curator of the Nursing Museum, Janie Mason said the collection began in 1987 with two display cabinets.

“We now have permanent displays in the nursing wing of CDU, the Chancellery, the foyer of Darwin Private Hospital, and cater for occasional displays as requested in the community,” she said.

CDU Vice-Chancellor Professor Barney Glover said the day was a fitting tribute to the university’s nursing staff over the years.

“Those involved in our nursing studies program have continued to strive to develop and deliver a new and innovative curriculum,” he said.

“The university is proud of the developments and growth in the nursing discipline and is honoured to house such historical collection of nursing artifacts.”