Marion Leane Smith (1891–1957) was an Australian-Canadian nurse. She is the only

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

woman known to have served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.Nicole Brangwin
Parliamentary Library Lecture—Aboriginals in the First Australian Imperial Force, a secret history
Parliament of Australia.Sophie Verass (25 April 2017)
The fascinating life of WWI's only serving Indigenous Australian woman, Marion Leane Smith
NITV. Smith was of English and

Darug The Dharug or Darug people, formerly known as the Broken Bay tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people, who share strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, lived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans, scattered throughout much ...

descent; her grandmother, Lucy Leane, belonged to the Cabrogal people.Marion Elizabeth Leane Smith
Women of Empire Stories.

Early years

Smith was born in

Liverpool, New South Wales Liverpool is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately south-west of the Sydney CBD. Liverpool is the administrative seat of the local government area of the City of Liverp ...

, to Elizabeth and George William Smith in 1891. Smith's grandmother petitioned the NSW Aborigines Protection Board for a fishing boat in 1893. Smith moved with her family to Canada at a young age.

Career

She underwent nursing training at the New England Hospital in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, before returning to Canada in 1913 to join the

Victorian Order of Nurses The Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) has been leading home and community care in Canada for over a century. Today, VON provides home and community support services to over 10,000 people every day across Ontario and Nova Scotia. It is registered as a ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. She enlisted with Queen Alexandra's Imperial Nursing Service in 1917. At the time, it was difficult for Australian Aboriginal women to access the needed training to enlist, and so no nurses of Aboriginal heritage were known to have served in the Australian forces. Smith served with the No. 41 Ambulance Train in France.Nakari Thorpe (8 November 2018)
'Very proud': Remembering the only known Aboriginal woman to serve in WWI
NITV. The

ambulance train A hospital train is a railway train with carriages equipped for the provision of healthcare. Historically this has ranged from trains equipped to transport wounded soldiers, with basic nursing and first aid facilities on board, to fully equippe ...

s were designated to transport injured soldiers from the front lines to military hospitals, and were known to be difficult environments in which to work. Nevertheless, Smith distinguished herself; her supervisor noted that "Her work is both quickly and efficiently done. She is most capable in every way". After the conclusion of her ambulance train contract, Smith went first to Italy with the

Italian Expeditionary Force During World War I, both Britain and France sent military forces to Italy in October 1917. Following the Battle of Caporetto (24 October to 19 November 1917), the Italian Front collapsed. In order to ensure this did not lead to Italy withdrawing f ...

and then to the University War Hospital in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, UK. Smith returned to Canada in 1919 and married veteran Victor Walls. The couple moved to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, where Walls served as headmaster of

Naparima College Naparima College (informally known as Naps) is a public secondary school for boys in Trinidad and Tobago. Located in San Fernando, the school was founded in 1894 but received official recognition in 1900. It was established by Dr. Kenneth J. G ...

; Smith wrote the school's hymn and created its dormitory infirmary. At the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Smith served as commandant for the first iteration of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

on the island, as well as leading a Nurses' Council; for her service she was later awarded a Distinguished War Service Medal. They returned to Canada in 1953. Smith and Walls had one son, born during their time in Trinidad. Smith died in

Blackville, New Brunswick Blackville is a community, formerly an incorporated village, in Northumberland County, New Brunswick, Canada. It is located on the Southwest Miramichi River approximately southwest of Miramichi. History The first post office opened in the ar ...

, on 24 January 1957.Tamsin Hong (24 March 2016)
The first nurse
National Portrait Gallery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Marion Leane 1891 births 1957 deaths Canadian military personnel of World War I Female wartime nurses Canadian female military personnel Canadian women in World War I Female nurses in World War I Canadian military nurses World War I nurses Indigenous Australian health professionals 20th-century Canadian women Australian emigrants to Canada Canadian women nurses