Nancie May Kinsella M.B.E ARRC

1900 – 1967

Nurse, Humanitarian, Matron, Oncology Nursing Pioneer, Educator

Nancie Kinsella was a courageous and compassionate Australian nurse whose devotion to caring for others left a lasting impression on those she served. Her work during World War II and as a Matron at the Peter Mac Cancer Centre played an important role in patient care in both wartime and oncology nursing.

Nancie was born in South Yarra, Victoria, in 1900. In 1905, her family moved to a 60-acre farm in Cora Lynn, where she grew up with her sister Kathleen and four  brothers. [1]

Nancie trained as a nurse and midwife at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Royal Women’s Hospital Melbourne.

In 1936, Nancie travelled overseas to work in Rhodesia and South Africa before moving to the United Kingdom. She was nursing in England when World War II broke out.

“Miss Kinsella joined the Queen Alexandra Imperial Military Service in 1939 and saw active service in France, Dunkirk, Cairo, Egypt, Palestine and Tunisia.”[2]

At the Normandy Landing, Nancie was sister in charge of mobile casualty clearing station, confronting the devastation of war while compassionately caring for D-Day casualties.[3]

In 1942, Nancie’s younger sister Kathleen, also serving as a wartime nurse, died at sea, in the tragic sinking of the hospital ship Vyner Brooke. In April 1945, Nancie was sent to Belsen Concentration Camp following its liberation, where she was part of a medical team who cared for approximately 1,700 survivors suffering from trauma, starvation and disease.[4]

For her courageous and compassionate service, Nancie was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross (ARRC) for bravery and exceptional devotion to duty.

Post-war, she remained in the Reserve of Officers and served in Malaya, Hong Kong and Trieste until 1956.

In January 1956, Nancie returned to Melbourne and became matron of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. She established Australia’s first postgraduate Radiotherapy Nursing Course and trained generations of nurses.

Colleagues honoured her contributions by creating the Nancie Kinsella Patients’ Library in 1968, which continues to support patients and staff.

The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre described her as “… a practice-changing nurse who built the foundations of oncology nursing in Australia.”[5]

Nancie Kinsella passed away on 22 May 1967.

Commemoration: Nancie Road

Nancie Road was named in 2024 in honour of Nancie Kinsella. The naming, approved by Cardinia Shire Council following public consultation and was part of a broader initiative to commemorate notable women through geographic place names.[6]

Acknowledgement:

This Biography was written by Her Place Women’s Museum in consultation with family and Cardinia Shire Council using the below resources.

Photograph:

Nancie Kinsella – 2nd matron at Peter Mac Cancer Centre (seated) First Matron Cora McNeill (standing) 1956 – Photograph supplied by Cardinia Shire Council.

Resources:

● Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. (2023, 25 April). A Peter Mac Anzac hero: Nancie Kinsella MBE ARRC. General News. 

● Arnold, H. (2023, 7 May). Nancie and Kathleen Kinsella – extraordinary nurses. Koo Wee Rup Swamp History.

● Australian War Memorial. (n.d.). Nancie May Kinsella – Honours and Awards (Recommendation). Royal Military Nursing Service, Second World War, 1939–1945. Retrieved October 9, 2025

● Australian War Memorial. (n.d.). The sinking of SS Vyner Brooke and the Banka Island massacre. Retrieved October 9, 2025

● The Gazette. (1950, January 2). Supplement to the London Gazette, issue 38797. Retrieved October 9, 2025,

● The Age. (1955, December 23). War nurse new matron at clinic. The Age.

● Geographic Names Victoria (GNV).Land.Vic.

Place naming news geographic place names honouring women reach new milestone, Nancie Road naming record.