INTERNATIONAL Nurses Day has special significance for Melbourne woman Marjory Turnham.
Marjory, 83, is the granddaughter of one of the first Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS) nurses.
Her grandmother Lucy Smith trained in the UK under Florence Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing whose birthday is celebrated on International Nurses Day.
Lucy was born in the UK and spent her early years in the Essex region, close to London. Her parents died when she was young, leaving her with only her older sister, Caroline.
"Caroline wanted to train with Florence Nightingale, so Lucy was allowed to go into nursing as well, although she was a bit young at only 17," Marjory said.
The young women began their studies in about 1876, only 20 years after Nightingale revolutionised hospital conditions and the treatment of soldiers in the Crimean War of the 1850s.
Lucy received a book signed by Florence Nightingale on her graduation, and the family has a professional referral for her first position signed by the famed "Lady with the Lamp".
She also received two financial gifts from the Nightingale Fund for her excellent work.
"I did not meet my grandmother as she died in 1932, some two years before I was born," Marjory said.
"However my mother told me many times how grandma had been inspired by Florence Nightingale. Apparently she was strict with the nurses but she was a great teacher, and obviously a wonderful example.
"Mum had a lot of special treatments she'd been taught by Lucy, my grandmother."
Lucy started work in 1881 at St Mary's Dispensary for Women at Marylebone and later worked at the British Home for Incurables, before finding work chaperoning a group of young brides on a ship to Australia.
She arrived in Melbourne around 1892 and quickly found work as an RDNS nurse.
By that time the nurses were making more than 8000 visits each year, providing food, medical care and comfort to Melbourne people who were elderly, sick or unable to take care of themselves.
In 1893 Lucy and two untrained assistants formed the entire nursing staff.
Marjory, whose own daughter is a nurse, said she remained connected with RDNS as a donor.
"The link is very strong - it means a lot to me that I'm connected with something that is doing so much for people," she said.
"Over the years the work has spread and the list of services has expanded, yet it is all so worthwhile, helping people when they need it most and improving their quality of life."
International Nurses Day is celebrated on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale.
- RDNS is a part of RSL Care + RDNS, a not-for- profit provider supporting the health, wellbeing and independence of more than 100,000 community care clients, more than 2,200 residential aged care residents and more than 2,200 retirement village residents in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.