Born 1868 at Beechworth to Scottish pioneers to John Creighton and Ann Sheddon. Oldest of eight children.

In March 1891,  a six month old  baby boy named Ernest Dunn was buried in the Presbyterian section of the Beechworth Cemetery. He was the son of Samuel Thomas Dunn and Jane [Jean] Williamson Creighton. Having been born with hydrocephalus, the baby's life expectancy was minimal.

Five years later in August 1896  twenty-eight year old Jean Creighton successfully applied for the position of pupil nurse at the Ovens District Hospital. See Ovens and Murray Advertiser, 22 August 1896.

After receiving her certificate of competency as a trained nurse in December 1898, Jean was appointed staff nurse a position she maintained until mid March 1899 after which she travelled to Melbourne to marry the father of her first born child, Samuel Thomas Dunn, an engine fitter.

The couple moved to Queenstown, Tasmania where the only daughter Olive was born on 7 June 1900. Their sons, Archibald  and Reginald, were born at Beechworth and Carlton respectively, in 1902 and 1904. After Reginald's birth, Jean joined her husband at Chillagoe, a mining town in northern Queensland. They lived at various other locations in Queensland including The Palms, Pleystowe and Prosperine before finally settling at Ayr.

Mrs Dunn who, as Miss Creighton, was the first to gain a nurse’s certificate at the Ovens District Hospital, is at present revisiting her home in

Beechworth and has been made particularly welcome by old friends and former hospital patients who appreciated Nurse Creighton’s skilful nursing. Mrs Dunn’s home is at Ayr, North Queensland, where Mr Dunn holds a responsible position in a large sugar mill. Mrs Dunn likes the

Queensland climate and enjoys the best of health. Ovens and Murray Advertiser, 8 December 1926.

©Anne Hanson, 2024                                                                                   E-mail:  Anne Hanson