Avery, Leitha Mavis (Mavis) (1911 - 1993)

In 1945 she returned to Australia and in June of that year took up the position of Professional Officer for Nursing with the Universities Commission. Under the Commonwealth Reconstruction Scheme the Commission was responsible for various forms of nurse training assessing their suitability particularly for ex service men and women.

Miss Avery began to make her mark more broadly in nursing, with her appointment as the inaugural Secretary General to the Royal Australian Nursing Federation in 1951. In the six years in which she held the appointment the Federation grew and developed and, importantly, became affiliated with the international nursing body, the International Council of Nurses.

Miss Avery’s influence was channeled in another direction on her appointment as Chief Nursing Officer for Victoria with the Victorian Nursing Council. This was a new position created under the newly proclaimed Nurses Act and Regulations 1956. The Council had much wider powers than the Nurse Board that preceded it that extended to all branches of nursing with particular responsibility for education, training and registration of all nurses. The Council also advised the Minister of Health on all matters relating to nursing.

Energetic and enthusiastic in all she undertook, Miss Avery believed passionately in further education and development for nurses. She was at the forefront of many developments of the time that sought to improve conditions for nurses and to enhance their preparation. She recognized the need for change in order for the profession to be prepared for the demands being made on it for nursing services.
Friends remember her as a forthright person with strong views and a great sense of humour; they recall that she could ‘tell a good story’.

Chronology

1930 - 1933	General nurse training at the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne
1934 - 1935	Midwifery training at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne
1936	Sister-in-charge of the Casualty Department at the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne
1936	Infant Welfare Certificate completed at the Victorian Baby Health Centres Association Training School
1939	Assistant Matron in the Model Infant Welfare Babies Centre in Shoreditch
1939	Redistered Nurse in the casualty department of Kingston on Thames Hospital
1939	In the UK for postgraduate study in public health and nursing administration at the Royal College of Nursing London, interrupted by the commencement of WWII
1939 - 1945	Service in the Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps in the Middle East, North Africa, Sicily, Italy, India and England, much of it on board the hospital ship Somersetshire
1945	Professional Officer for Nursing with the Universities Commission
1950	Florence Nightingale Scolarship to undertake Diploma of Nursing Administration
1951	Diploma of Nursing Administration from the College of Nursing Australia
1951 - 1957	Secretary General of the Royal Australian Nursing Federation
1953	Fellow of the College of Nursing, Australia
1956	World Health Organisation Fellowship for a study tour of Canada, USA, Scandinavia & England
1958 - 1967	Chief Nursing Officer for Victoria