CONYERS, EVELYN AUGUSTA (1870-1944), matron-in-chief, was born on 1 March 1870
at Invercargill, New Zealand, daughter of William Conyers, engineer, formerly of
Leeds, England, and his wife Fanny, née Mainprize. She was educated privately and
at Invercargill and Dunedin girls' high schools.
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Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
Evelyn Conyers was appointed to the Order of the British Empire - Commander (Military) on 22 March 1919 for nursing service with the army during World War I. She had previously been awarded the Royal Red Cross on 3 June 1916.
Born and educated in New Zealand, Evelyn Conyers migrated to Victoria, Australia in the 1890s. After training at the Children's (1894) and Melbourne (1896) hospitals she became matron of a private hospital in Melbourne in 1901.
Active in professional nurse's organisations, in 1903 she helped found the Victorian Trained Nurses' Association. When the Queen's Memorial Infectious Diseases Hospital at Fairfield was established in 1904, Evelyn Conyers became the first matron. In 1907, she and Sister Jessie MacBeth opened a private hospital in Kew.
An original member of the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) in the Third Military District, Evelyn Conyers sailed on the Shropshire on 20 October 1914. Aged 45 years, she was appointed matron-in-chief, Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 12 January 1916. She held this position until she was discharged on 6 March 1920. During this time she worked closely with the Matron-in-Chief of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Service (QAIMNS) British Expeditionary Force (BEF) Miss (Dame from 1918) Maud McCarthy.
Evelyn Conyers was appointed to the Order of the British Empire - Commander (Military) on 22 March 1919 for nursing service with the army during World War I. She had previously been awarded the Royal Red Cross on 3 June 1916.
After the war Evelyn Conyers returned to 'Lancewood' Private Hospital in Kew, Victoria. She was appointed to the board set up under the provisions of the Nurses' Registration Act (1923), was made a Life Member of the Royal Victorian College of Nurses, was a founder and director of the Victorian Trained Nurses Club Ltd, and a member of the Victorian branch of the Australian Nursing Federation. Evelyn Conyers also was a member of the board of management of the Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital, a trustee of the Edith Cavell Trust Fund, and belonged to the Returned Nurses' Club.
On 6 September 1944 Evelyn Conyers died at Epworth Private Hospital, Richmond and was buried with full military honours in Boroondara cemetery, Kew.
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Australian Women's Register
Evelyn Conyers was a highly regarded war-time nurse. She served in Egypt and Greece for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during 1914-1915 and was promoted to matron. In 1916 the AIF transferred Conyers to their London headquarters to help reconcile differences between the nurses and medical staff and the Australian and British nursing services. Her contributions to the war effort and nursing in general were rewarded by her being appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), the Order of the Royal Red Cross and recipient of the Florence Nightingale medal.
In her early 20s, Evelyn Augusta Conyers migrated from New Zealand to Victoria, Australia. There she set about studying nursing at the Children's Hospital and then the Melbourne Hospital. She graduated in 1896 and worked in a private hospital from around 1901 to 1903. It was also in 1903 when Conyers joined the Australian Army Nursing Service. The following year, she was employed by the new Queen's Memorial Infectious Diseases Hospital as matron. In c.1907, Evelyn Conyers and Sister Jessie MacBeth established the Lancewood private hospital in Kew.
When wore broke out, Conyers joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) as a senior sister. Her first post was at the 1st Australian General Hospital in Egypt, but soon after arriving Conyers was sent to the Egyptian Army Hospital (Abbassia) to give urgent assistance. By July 1915 she had rejoined the 1st Australian General Hospital which had been moved to Heliopolis, Greece. Conyers was soon promoted to matron and sent to the neighbouring 3rd Australian General Hospital. In December of the same year, she was promoted to matron-in-chief of the Australian Army Nursing Service. In 1916 Conyers was transferred to the AIF's London headquarters, where she worked in administration as well as making several trips casualty-clearing to auxiliary hospitals on the Western Front. Conyers returned to Australia in December 1918 and went back to the Lancewood Hospital.
Evelyn Conyers was a heavily involved in the development of nursing in Australia. She was founder of the (Royal) Victorian Trained Nurses' Association (later known as the Royal Victorian College of Nurses) and the Victorian Trained Nurses' Club Ltd, a ten-year board member under the Nurses' Registration Act, a member of the Australian Nursing Federation, and a member of the Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital's board of management.
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c. 1890
Life event - Migrated to Australia (Victoria)
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1894
Education - Nursing Certificate completed at the Children's and Melbourne Hospitals
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1901
Career position - Founder of the Victorian Trained Nurses' Association
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1901
Career position - Matron at a private hospital in Melbourne
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1903
Career position - Sister with the Australian Army Nursing Service
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1904
Career position - Foundation Matron of Queen's Memorial Infectious Disease Hospital in Fairfield
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1914 - 1916
Career position - Senior Sister with the 1st Australian General Hospital of the Australian Imperial Force in Egypt and Greece
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c. 12 December 1914
Career position - Matron-in-Chief with the Australian Army Nursing Service
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1916
Career position - Matron with the Australian Imperial Force at their London Headquarters
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3 June 1916
Award - Order of the Royal Red Cross (1st class)
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12 December 1917
Life event - Returned to Victoria
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January 1919
Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
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March 1919
Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
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December 1919
Award - Bar to her Royal Red Cross received
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23 February 1921 - 23 February1921
Award - Florence Nightingale Medal and Diploma received from the Red Cross Committee in Geneva
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Encyclopedia of Australian Science