Professional isolation & independence of bush nurses in Tasmania 1910-1957 'We were very much individuals on our own'

This is a thesis about the lives and roles of women who were Tasmanian Bush Nurses, who engaged in a facet of nursing that originated in 1910 and eventually was renamed District Nursing in 1957. The Bush Nursing Service provided nursing care to the populations of rural townships, the surrounding countryside and bush in a period of Tasmanian history when road transport and communications necessitated the nurse to operate with little dayto-day supervision and support. From a variety of public and private sources and in-depth interviews this thesis explores the twin themes of female professional isolation and independence. It demonstrates the dynamic nature of lived experience as the society in which the nurse lived and worked changed.