Division of Bullwinkel
| Bullwinkel Australian House of Representatives Division | |
|---|---|
| Namesake | Vivian Bullwinkel |
The Division of Bullwinkel is a proposed Australian electoral division in the state of Western Australia. It was created in 2024 as part of a redistribution, and is expected to come into effect at the 2025 federal election.[1] The seat is notionally held by the Labor Party.[2]
Bullwinkel will incorporate parts of the divisions of Hasluck, Durack, Swan, O'Connor, and Canning.[3]
Naming
The seat is named after Vivian Bullwinkel, an Australian Army nurse during the Second World War who was the sole surviving nurse of the Bangka Island Massacre.[4][5] Vivian Statham died of a heart attack in Perth on Monday 3 July 2000 at the age of 84. Her courage while a prisoner of war of the Japanese exemplified the bravery of Australian women in war, and her distinguished post-war career was marked by many humanitarian achievements.
Bullwinkel and her husband resided in Perth Western Australia, for her last twenty years of life. Bullwinkel testified at the War Crimes Tribunal and throughout her life she advocated for the memory of the other nurses involved in the massacre. Well known in the WA nursing circles, a wing of Hollywood hospital is named after her, as is an aged care facility north of Perth.
A number of objections were received to the adoption of the name Bullwinkel, preferring a local nurse from the Bangka Massacre named Alma Beard. The AEC rejected the objections on the grounds that the naming of electorates was to recognise the "extent of a person's contribution to the country as a whole".[6]
References
- ^ Wright, Shane. "Labor-held Melbourne seat of Higgins to be scrapped in boundary redraw". Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Evans, Jake. "Michelle Ananda-Rajah's seat of Higgins set to be abolished at next federal election". ABC News.
- ^ "Proposed redistribution of Western Australia into electoral divisions" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. 31 May 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ Brown, Kellie D. (2020). The sound of hope: Music as solace, resistance and salvation during the holocaust and world war II. McFarland. p. 236.
- ^ Gary Nunn (18 April 2019), "Bangka Island: The WW2 massacre and a 'truth too awful to speak'", BBC News, archived from the original on 15 March 2022, retrieved 18 April 2019
- ^ "Announcement of final electoral divisions". Western Australian redistribution, 2023. Australian Electoral Commission. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.