Betty Jean Martin

The onset of World War II saw women stepping into roles previously dominated by men including jobs in manufacturing, transport, communication, agriculture, and the white-collar sector. This shift resulted in fewer women training as nurses. A lack of trainees and the restrictions imposed by the Manpower Authority made the staffing of civilian hospitals problematic.

In January 1943, Irene McPaul, the matron at the Ovens District Hospital, felt fortunate to have, albeit temporarily, one double certificate sister, two staff nurses and six trainees, one of whom was seventeen-year-old Betty Martin.

Betty started her career at a time when nurses had to pay for any breakages and were unmercifully bullied by the ward sister. First-year nurses even had to provide their own uniforms. However, upon passing their first-year exams, they were reimbursed, and the hospital provided the material for their uniforms for the following two years.

Beyond nursing duties, the nursing staff were involved in preparing invalid cookery, bottling fruit and vegetables supplied by the prison, preserving eggs donated on the annual hospital egg day and actively participated in the hospital’s various fundraising activities.

With only 20 beds, the hospital was classified as a part-time training school. Consequently, Betty spent her first year at Beechworth, her second year at Wangaratta Base Hospital, and then returned to Beechworth.

In January 1944, Betty packed her bags and joined the nursing staff at the Wangaratta Hospital. This move proved to be a blessing as the environment at the Ovens District Hospital had become quite toxic due to high staff turnover and public slander as perceived by the remaining nursing staff. By the time Betty returned, Matron Caroline Dyring had been in charge for several months, significantly improving conditions for both patients and nurses.

On 15 August 1945, Prime Minister Ben Chifley announced the end of the war, sparking spontaneous celebrations across the country. As part of the festivities, nursing and domestic staff in hospitals throughout Australia received two days extra pay.

Betty was well regarded by everyone including the chief medical officer, Dr. Childs and Matron Dyring. In July 1946, Matron Dyring held a party at the hospital to celebrate the end of Betty’s training and her new status as a nursing sister. The nursing and domestic staff gifted Betty a silver sugar basin and a silver sandwich tray.

Dr. Childs, in a reference he wrote spoke glowingly of Betty, stating that her work and conduct had been of the highest order and that he thoroughly recommended her for any position she might apply for. In her reference, Matron Dyring said ‘Miss Martin has had good practical experience in medical and surgical nursing and the nursing of sick children. Her work in the operating theatre is excellent. She is a thoroughly efficient, capable, and conscientious nurse.’

No doubt these two excellent references led to Betty being appointed as a staff nurse at the Dandenong and District Hospital in October 1946, a position she held until March 1948. For the latter part of 1948, she was sister in charge of the Intermediate Ward of the Williamstown & District General Hospital where she endeared herself to both patients and staff.

Always with an eye to the future, in January 1949, Betty successfully applied for a place on a nine-month obstetric course at the Royal Hospital for Women at Paddington, Sydney.

In 1951, Betty returned to the Ovens District Hospital, much to the delight of Matron Dyring, as the hospital had been at risk of closing its maternity ward due to a shortage of midwifery trained nurses. In June of the same year Betty became engaged to Adrian Bartsh.

Adrian, the only son of Frederick John Bartsh and Emma Louisa Beel, grew up at the Three Mile where he also went to school and later became a local farmer.

His paternal grandmother, Julia Frances Sherritt, was Aaron Sherritt’s sister. On the night of 26 June 1880, Aaron was shot and killed by Joe Byrne, a member of the Kelly gang who believed Aaron was a police informant. Julia, who was about fifteen at the time later married John Frederick Bartsh in 1894. She was a superb horsewoman, a great cook and could turn her hand to anything.

Betty grew up on the family farm located on the Beechworth Road, Chiltern. She was one of five children born to John McIntyre Martin and Betsy Marie Maud Newey. She went to school at Chiltern and achieved her merit certificate in November 1939.

At the Ovens District Hospital annual meeting in August 1953, the chief medical officer, Dr. Leembruggen expressed his sincere thanks to three former nursing trainees, Sisters Betty Martin, Margaret Richardson and Joyce Broughton for their invaluable services amidst a critical nursing staff shortage throughout the year. Betty served as acting matron for a short period after Caroline Dyring resigned in February 1953 to take up a similar position at Mordialloc.

Betty continued to do relief work at the ODH until 1966 when Matron Gladys Thompson permanently employed her on a part time basis. She remained at the hospital until her retirement in 1983. It is thought that Betty probably delivered at least half of the babies born in Beechworth between 1966 and 1983.

Matron Thompson considered Betty utterly reliable and a good nurse who was well liked by patients. Nurses who worked with Betty appreciated her calming effect on the wards, her homeliness, her ability to keep everything under control, her organisational skills and above all, her compassion.

While forging her career Betty also supported her husband on the farm, as was customary at the time. She was an excellent cook and was especially proud of her roast duck and traditional deserts. She had a well-deserved reputation for being able to feed people, anywhere any time. She also contributed to the community by volunteering with Meals on Wheels, providing goods for the Church fetes and knitting for Aids babies in Africa.

She loved the bush and could recognise many species of wildflowers, including sarsaparilla, the spider and leopard orchids, egg and bacon and chocolate flowers.

Betty, her husband, parents, and siblings were grief stricken when her younger sister Mary and her four young children were discovered drowned at the base of Woolshed Falls, north of Beechworth, in September 1961. This awful tragedy continues to cast a long shadow over the Bartsh and Martin descendants. Mary’s husband, Ken Robinson and Adrian Bartsh were first cousins.

Married for almost fifty-seven years, Betty and Adrian lived, farmed and raised two children at Baarmutha. Towards the end of his life, Adrian developed Parkinson’s Disease. Betty nursed him at home but after a bad fall he went into aged care. Loyal to the end, Betty visited him almost every day until his death in August 2009. 

©Anne Hanson, 2024                                                                         E-mail:  Anne Hanson