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Miss Brennan undertook her general nursing certificate at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney from
1941 to 1945. She completed her midwifery nursing certificate at the Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmania in 1946.
She then returned to New South Wales and was employed at the Repatriation General Hospital (RGH), Concord.
Whilst at this hospital she was employed as a Sister and Senior Sister in the various wards and units.
Jacqueline O’Brien recalled Miss Brennan’s contribution to nursing education at RGH. In September 1947
RGH was registered as a training school for nurses.
Sister Terryl Williams was delegated to establish the school. Laurie Brennan ably assisted her. Between them
they were responsible for converting empty rooms into teaching facilities, developing a four year nursing education
curriculum, designing stationery, attendance records and the students’ uniforms. The School commenced its first
Preliminary Training Course on 1 March 1948. The group consisted of 22 females and five males. Six students
graduated: three males and three females.
In 1952 Miss Brennan was awarded special leave without pay from the Repatriation Commission to enable
her to gain nursing experience overseas. Whilst overseas she worked for some private nursing agencies. On one
assignment she accompanied a family to Switzerland. In Britain she was employed as a Staff Nurse at two hospitals,
the Gordon (Westminster Group) Hospital and the Sunderland Royal Infirmary.
On her return to Australia in 1954, she resumed her position as a Senior Sister at the Repatriation General
Hospital, Concord. In 1956 she transferred to the Northern Territory Medical Service. Miss Brennan was apparently
the first registered nurse to have permanency status in the Northern Territory Medical Service. The Commonwealth
ran the Repatriation hospital so she was able to transfer from one Commonwealth Health Service to another. Whilst
at Darwin Hospital she occupied the position of Sister and Senior Sister. During this period Miss Brennan worked
in the ‘native ward’. It was here that she established many lasting friendships with Aboriginal families.
In 1960 she successfully completed the Mothercraft (Infant Health) Nursing Certificate at the Royal Society
for the Welfare of Mothers and Babies Home, known as ‘Tresillian’ at Vaucluse in Sydney. She was now a triple
certificated nursing sister. Miss Brennan returned to Darwin Hospital where she was appointed Assistant Matron.
A number of sources indicated that it was because of her forthright manner that she was deployed to Alice Springs,
where between 1962 and 1964 she occupied the position of Acting Matron (Relief).
Miss Brennan was committed to the advancement of nursing education and she was a leader in further
qualifications for registered nurses. In 1964 she undertook the Diploma of Nursing Administration at the College of
Nursing Australia in Melbourne. On its completion she returned to her former position at Alice Springs Hospital.
In 1965 Miss Brennan was appointed Matron at the Darwin Hospital. In this position she was also Principal
of the School of Nursing. She returned to the College of Nursing Australia, in Melbourne in 1971 to undertake
the Diploma of Public Health Nursing. On her return to Darwin she was appointed Nursing Administrator for the
Northern Territory. This position was classified as a Matron Grade VI. She occupied this position between 1972
and 1975 and was responsible for all nursing organisational and administrative activities as well as being a member
of the Nurses Board of the Northern Territory.
In December 1974 when Cyclone Tracy struck, Miss Brennan, as senior nurse administrator, had her offices in
the Department of Health, at that time the MLC building in Smith Street. She resumed duty on Boxing Day 1974.
She was responsible for the establishment of a series of emergency health centres; at one time 26 centres were
operating ‘providing first aid, inoculations to prevent epidemics, advice regarding food contamination etcetera’.
Among other difficult tasks was identifying suitable available nursing staff as not all volunteers made valid claims
for their qualifications. When nurses and other medical personnel came from interstate most had never been in the
tropics nor experienced the after effects of a major catastrophe, and not all were suitable. She was later to receive
a commendation from the Health Department for her ‘organizational ability, scope of responsibilities and splendid
performance of the nursing staff’ involved in the post-Tracy cleanup.
To those who knew her it became evident that Miss Brennan was easily frustrated in the role of pen pusher
and administrator where there was no contact with patients. It was not long before she was able to persuade the
powers that be that she was better suited as Matron of Darwin hospital. This position was also classified as Matron
Grade VI. Those who had known Miss Brennan for many years indicated that she stood up for what she believed.
Jacqueline O’Brien was to say that during her nursing career this might have been to her own disadvantage but
never to the nursing profession.
As Matron of the hospital Miss Brennan undertook a daily ward round which ensured that during a week she
visited every ward and specialty area at least once. Many Aboriginal clients knew her as the ‘boss lady’. However,
familiarity with the boss lady did not assist anyone when they wanted to bend the rules. Gambling was forbidden
within the grounds of the Darwin Hospital. Many a time Miss Brennan was seen demanding a pack of playing
cards when the players were in the midst of a very serious card game. On one occasion she was seen to grasp the
blanket on which the players were placing their bets, a tug on one corner resulted in no-one knowing whose money
was whose.
Whilst occupying the positions of Nursing Administrator for the Northern Territory, Matron of the Darwin
Hospital and a member of the Nurses Board of the Northern Territory, Miss Brennan initiated and saw the
introduction of many nursing standards and education programs which are still in existence in the Northern
Territory some two decades later. She represented Northern Territory nursing at interstate conferences. She was
also a member of the panel charged with assessing overseas qualifications and was involved in the establishment
of an Audit Committee concerned with nursing education.
Marian Grayden worked with Miss Brennan for many years at the Darwin Hospital. She recalls that Miss Brennan
was an excellent communicator and a farsighted nurse administrator who was uncompromising about maintaining
high professional standards. She was pedantic that English should be written and spoken correctly. The use of