'Like a possession of the devil'. The diffusion of Nightingale nursing and Anglo-Australian relations

The main focus of this paper is on the difficulties Lucy Osburn experienced in transferring British ideals of Nightingale nursing to an Australian colony. Neither Nightingale nor Osburn allowed for the impact of colonial culture and politics on the nurses in Sydney. In particular, the improved economic and social prospects of the five nurses who accompanied Osburn had a profound impact on their behaviour. As well, the political ambitions of the two men responsible for the invitation to the Nightingale nurses, Henry Parkes and Alfred Roberts, remained dominant. Nightingale, on the other side of the world, could do little but acquiesce to colonial opinion. The paper describes how the endeavour in Australia progressed, what became of the careers and lives of the central participants and the impact it had on the development of nursing in both countries.