P004135 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 2002-09-10 human Australian Nursing History Project, Helen Hamilton updated 2025-10-29 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P004135b.htm person Curley Sylvia OAM AACR2 8 November 1898 24 March 1999 Place of Birth Duntroon, Australian Capital Territory, Australia Nurse Nurse administrator Activist Sylvia Curley qualified as a nurse in 1926 and spent her early years of nursing in country New South Wales. She worked for the Canberra Community Hospital (later known as the Royal Canberra Hospital) from 1938 until her retirement in 1966 as deputy matron. In her 'retirement' years she ran a nursing employment agency in Canberra and was a strong advocate for changes to nurses' education. In 1994 she donated her family home, Mugga Mugga, to the people of Canberra and oversaw its development into an environmental education centre. Sylvia Curley was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia on 8 June 1992 for her services to nursing, to local history and to the National Trust.

A second generation descendent of Irish bounty immigrants Sylvia Curley grew up in Duntroon in what is now Canberra and was then a farming estate where her father was employed. In her life time she saw Canberra evolve from a rural farming community to be the capital city of Australia. Sylvia's strong sense of history and interest in local culture became a passionate concern and led to her activities in preserving local history. In complete concurrence with the wishes of her family, in 1995 she donated the family home Mugga Mugga Cottage, one of the oldest buildings in Canberra, to the people of Canberra to become a house museum and environmental education centre.

Similarly in her 28 years of service, she saw the Canberra Community Hospital evolve into the Canberra Hospital. (In 1979 the hospital became the Royal Canberra Hospital, later reverting to the title The Canberra Hospital in July 1996 after amalgamating with Woden Valley Hospital in 1991). The Nurses Home for the 'old' Canberra Hospital, opened in 1964 (demolished in July 1997), was named in Miss Curley's honour as Sylvia Curley House. It provided modern facilities for nurses and housed the School of Nursing on the ground floor.

Throughout her nursing career her two major concerns were the improvement of patient care through sound administrative practices and improved education for nurses. Miss Curley provides her own accounts in her book The long journey of the difficulties she encountered striving to bring about change in hospital practices and to provide basic equipment for teaching, suitably qualified nurses to run education programs and to develop an improved environment for nurses to achieve learning goals. She undertook fund raising for the purposes of achieving her vision for nurses' education. She is seen now to be ahead of her time in her advocacy for changes to nurse education. At a time when these matters were not established practice she supported a reduction in the length of the four year training program, extensions to the preliminary training period, the establishment of a qualified staff dedicated to teaching, to take charge of the education program and the provision of an adequately equipped tutorial department in which to conduct the education program.

On her retirement from nursing and her position as deputy matron of the 'old' Canberra Hospital in 1966, Sylvia Curley ran an employment agency for 20 years for nurses specialising in providing nurses for doctors' surgeries and rooms. She lived to celebrate her centenary at a mass in St Christopher's Cathedral in Manuka ACT, on 7 November 1998.

1923 1926 Undertook general training at Leeton Hospital, New South Wales 1926 1926 Staff Nurse at Leeton Hospital, New South Wales 2 September 1926 2 September 1926 Registered as a general nurse with New South Wales Nurses Board 1929 Junior theatre sister Narrandarra District Hospital for two and a half years 1931 1931 School Nurse at Cranbrook School for Boys 1932 1934 Matron at Gundagai Hospital, New South Wales 1935 1935 Student Midwife at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney 9 May 1935 9 May 1935 Completed Midwifery Certificate 1936 1937 Matron at Gundagai Hospital, New South Wales 1938 1966 Sub-Matron at the Canberra Community Hospital, later the Canberra Hospital and then Royal Canberra Hospital 9 May 1939 9 May 1939 Registered with the ACT Nurse Board as a general nurse and midwife, registration number 122 1966 1985 Private Employment Consultant in Canberra 8 Jun 1992 8 Jun 1992 Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) - for services to Nursing and the Canberra and District Historical Society Curley, Sylvia (1898-1999)

Trove

 'Curley, Sylvia', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Curley, Sylvia Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Resource Section: Death of Miss Sylvia Curley - 1999 Week 4 Hansard (20 April) Page 940-948 Death of Miss Sylvia Curley - 1999 Week 4 Hansard (20 April) Page 940-948 1999 Book: A long journey: Duntroon, Mugga Mugga and three careers Curley, Sylvia A long journey: Duntroon, Mugga Mugga and three careers Canberra ACT Government 1998 Edited Book: Royal Canberra Hospital: an Anecdotal History of Nursing 1914 to 1991 Newman, Janet and Warren, Jennie Royal Canberra Hospital: an Anecdotal History of Nursing 1914 to 1991 2nd Mawson, ACT Janet Newman and Jennie Warren 1993 Biographical cuttings on Sister Sylvia Curley, former deputy matron of the Canberra Community Hospital National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection Biographical cuttings on Sister Sylvia Curley, former deputy matron of the Canberra Community Hospital Cuttings Files BIOG Mugga Mugga Mugga Mugga Mugga Mugga Mugga Mugga is a 17 hectare property originally part of the Duntroon estate, now an environmental educational facility and a museum of the lives of early rural workers in the Canberra region. The 1830s stone cottage and slab kitchen contain furniture and ephemera belonging to the Curley family who have been associated with Mugga Mugga since the 1860s. [Sylvia Curley] Canberra and District Historical Society [Sylvia Curley] 1970s - 1990s Letters (1985) and newspaper cuttings from local Canberra newspapers, date range 1970s-1990s, relating to Sylvia Curley. Papers of Sylvia Curley Historic Places ACT, Cultural Facilites Corporation Papers of Sylvia Curley Assorted ephemera uncatalogued from Miss Curley's personal collection; includes letters, cards and realia. Sylvia Curley Sylvia Curley Courtesy Australian Nursing History Project.

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 Sylvia Curley Sylvia Curley Courtesy Australian Nursing History Project.