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paradise except perhaps for two idyllic months mid-year. More memorable is the steamy heat of the approaching
wet season, which is broken by violent tropical storms, a dry season that is too long and unremittingly dry and
to this is added the ceaseless war against insect pests. The very basic facilities available on the mission stations
provided no relief but Sister Eucharia had no expectation that the life of a missionary would be easy. She set herself
to fulfilling her responsibilities with a commitment to the church and a belief that she was working for the benefit
of others. Tempered with good humour, determination and a generous nature they were to become hallmarks of
her long life of service.
The war seriously disrupted the newly commenced work on Melville Island when the authorities ordered the
evacuation of women and children from Darwin and the north coast as the threat of a Japanese invasion increased.
In February 1942 three nuns, 34 girls and seven boys journeyed south, but not before they had spent a hair-raising
few days in days in Darwin as the first of the Japanese bombs fell on the town. The evacuees went first to Melbourne
and then to Adelaide where the climate was warmer and drier until, in April 1945, they were given permission to
return to their island home. In another event that, despite its drama, seemed of little immediate consequence in the
shaping of a lifetime’s work, Sister Eucharia was taken ill on the return journey. The heavy work of the previous
few months, during which she had almost single-handedly packed the entire possessions of the whole group, had
taken their toll. She was taken first to Tennant Creek hospital before being transferred south for major surgery.
Following her recuperation at Kensington, and to her deep satisfaction, Sister Eucharia was told that she was no
longer needed on Melville Island but that she was to go to the Channel Island Leprosarium.
The Leprosarium, situated in Darwin Harbour, was a government institution that the Catholic Church had
willingly staffed during the crisis of the war and where they were to remain following its transfer to East Arm until
its closure in 1982. The great majority of the 200 or so patients on the island were Aboriginal, many of them from
Melville and Bathurst Islands. Although returning to the Territory in greatly improved health Sister Eucharia was
nevertheless troubled by poor circulation in her legs and feet, which led to painful swelling and greatly restricted
her mobility. It was a disability that she would endure for life but one that she rarely allowed to interfere with
her work. Her difficulties with her health is one thing that both patients and peers vividly recall about Sister
Eucharia and always in the context of how much hard work she was able to accomplish despite her restrictions.
Sister Eucharia herself believed that her fortitude stemmed from the strength of her commitment to the Church,
and through the Church, her commitment to Aboriginal people.
In 1946 Sister Eucharia commenced work as housekeeper to the nuns who provided medical services to the
leprosy patients, and on returning to the island in 1952 after spending two years in Darwin she commenced work
with the patients themselves. Sometimes cook, sometimes occupational therapist, Sister Eucharia worked with the
patients until 1970, first on Channel Island and then in the new leprosarium at East Arm. At times her legs became
so swollen and painful in the sweltering heat of the tropics that only the co-operation of the patients, and both their
and her good humour, made it possible for her to continue. For many patients being treated under strict isolationist
regimes she became a link with the outside world. Making use of her greater freedom she contacted the families of
patients to share news and, when in town, carried out modest shopping chores during which she encouraged local
shopkeepers to give the patients the very best deal possible. When eventually Sister Eucharia was asked to return
to Bathurst Island she was pleased at the opportunity for change and, although then almost 60 years old, having lost
none of her energy or her commitment to her life as a missionary, she was ready for a new challenge.
From the time of Sister Eucharia’s early days at Bathurst Island and her return over 30 years later government
policy on the Aborigines had undergone significant change. The segregation policies of the 1930s had given way to
policies of assimilation and, by the 1970s ideas that the Aboriginal people should be given the opportunity decide
the future for themselves were beginning to be accepted. To this end the government had made funds available
through a grants scheme for training projects, which would provide not only immediate work for Aboriginal people
but marketable skills for long-term employment. Sister Eucharia successfully applied for one of these grants
and established a small clothing factory. Production commenced using eight treadle machines under the later
well-known label of Bima Wear. A further grant enabled them to move to new premises designed for their specific
needs and to up-grade their equipment. Sister Eucharia was joined by her sister Bertha, and with the willing help of
the Aboriginal staff they created a self-supporting industry over which Aboriginal people finally took control and
which still flourishes. For many and complex reasons few ventures conceived by government and mission agencies
were successful or long-lived, making the achievement of Bima Wear all the more notable.
Sister Eucharia retired to the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart convent at Katherine in 1987 and two years later
moved to the convent at Kensington where she underwent surgery on her legs. Named in the Queen’s Honours List
in 1981, she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by the Administrator of the Northern
Territory in a ceremony on 13 June on Bathurst Island.
Interviews with Sister Eucharia.
SUZANNE PARRY, Vol 3.
EVANS, ERNEST WYNNE (1905–1933), Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionary to the Aborigines on
Groote Eylandt, was born at Kew, Victoria, on 4 March 1905. He was the son of Mr and Mrs S E Evans of
108 Barkers Road, Hawthorn. He was a bright student at school and went on to study accountancy. He then spent
two years at the Melbourne Bible Institute.
Evans was accepted by the CMS on 3 October 1927 for a short period of service on Groote Eylandt. He spent
nine months on the island relieving a staff shortage, returning to Melbourne on 9 September 1928. He spent the