[Index]
Clarice Esther 'Charl' CAVANAGH (1913 - 2006)
Lieutenant Colonel (RL), nurse, matron, AM
Children Self + Spouses Parents Grandparents Greatgrandparents
Clarice Esther 'Charl' CAVANAGH (1913 - 2006)

+

Arthur Gerrard O'CALLAGHAN ( - 1980)
Clarence Bede CAVANAGH (1874 - 1933) Patrick CAVANAGH (1830 - 1914) Thomas CAVANAGH (1803 - 1871)
Jane Susan MEADE (1809 - 1857)
Mary LOGUE (1841 - 1921) Brian (Bryan) LOGUE (1812 - 1860)
Margaret MCELROY (1814 - 1904)
Ester Ann SMITH (1881 - 1973) Mathew SMITH (1857 - 1902)



Eliza Elizabeth PLUMMER (1860 - ) Levi PLUMMER (1822 - 1876)
Frances Ann GUTTERIDGE (1815 - 1891)
Clarice Esther

Clarice Esther
Clarice Esther Clarice Esther
b. 20 Jul 1913 at Mulligans Flat, New South Wales, Australia
m. abt 1978 Arthur Gerrard O'CALLAGHAN ( - 1980) at Goroka, Papua New Guinea
d. 2006 aged 93
Near Relatives of Clarice Esther 'Charl' CAVANAGH (1913 - 2006)
Relationship Person Born Birth Place Died Death Place Age
Grandfather Patrick CAVANAGH Jan 1830 Tynagh, Co Galway, Ireland 10 May 1914 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 84
Grandmother Mary LOGUE Mar 1841 At sea 11 Sep 1921 Canberra, ACT, Australia 80
Grandfather Mathew SMITH 1857 Wistow, Huntingdonshire, England 1902 45
Grandmother Eliza Elizabeth PLUMMER abt 1860 Picton, New South Wales, Australia

Father Clarence Bede CAVANAGH Feb 1874 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia Feb 1933 Canberra, ACT, Australia 59
Mother Ester Ann SMITH Apr 1881 Apr 1973 Canberra, ACT, Australia 92

Self Clarice Esther 'Charl' CAVANAGH 20 Jul 1913 Mulligans Flat, New South Wales, Australia 2006 93

Husband Arthur Gerrard O'CALLAGHAN abt 1980

Sister Mary Irene CAVANAGH 1905 Mulligans Flat, New South Wales, Australia 1976 71
Sister Annie May CAVANAGH 1908 Mulligans Flat, New South Wales, Australia 1991 83
Sister Hannah Margaret CAVANAGH 1910 Mulligans Flat, New South Wales, Australia 2001 91
Sister Patricia Jane CAVANAGH 1915 Mulligans Flat, New South Wales, Australia 1969 54
Brother Patrick 'Jack' CAVANAGH abt 1917 Mulligans Flat, New South Wales, Australia 1978 61

Uncle Thomas CAVANAGH 1859 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1945 Morrisset, New South Wales, Australia 86
Uncle James Henry CAVANAGH 1862 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1946 Mayfield, New South Wales, Australia 84
Aunt Margaret Ann COPPIN 1861 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Aunt Jane CAVANAGH 1864 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1946 Canberra, ACT, Australia 82
Uncle John CAVANAGH 1866 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1935 Queensland, Australia 69
Uncle Brian Bernard CAVANAGH 1869 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1913 China 44
Uncle Patrick Allen CAVANAGH abt 1872 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia abt 1965 Queensland, Australia 93
Aunt Charlotte Mary JONES 1908 Queensland, Australia
Uncle Michael Joseph CAVANAGH 25 Sep 1875 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1937 North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 62
Aunt Ethel HARRIS abt 1898
Uncle Owen Owen CAVANAGH 1877 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1958 Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia 81
Uncle Ernest (Aaron) William CAVANAGH 1880 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1969 Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia 89
Aunt Mary Margaret CAVANAGH 1881 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1907 Temora, New South Wales, Australia 26

Cousin Patrick Aaron CAVANAGH 29 Sep 1887 26 Dec 1975 Te Awamutu, New Zealand 88
Cousin Allen CAVANAGH 1903 Queensland, Australia
Cousin Ernest CAVANAGH 1905 Queensland, Australia 10 Apr 1976 Canberra, ACT, Australia 71
Cousin Olive CAVANAGH 1906 Queensland, Australia

Brother in Law Edward MALONEY 1904 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1979 75
Events in Clarice Esther 'Charl' CAVANAGH (1913 - 2006)'s life
Date Age Event Place Notes Src
20 Jul 1913 Clarice Esther 'Charl' CAVANAGH was born Mulligans Flat, New South Wales, Australia 80
Feb 1933 19 Death of father Clarence Bede CAVANAGH (aged 59) Canberra, ACT, Australia
Apr 1973 59 Death of mother Ester Ann SMITH (aged 92) Canberra, ACT, Australia 80
abt 1978 65 Married Arthur Gerrard O'CALLAGHAN Goroka, Papua New Guinea 80
abt 1980 67 Death of husband Arthur Gerrard O'CALLAGHAN 80
2006 93 Clarice Esther 'Charl' CAVANAGH died 80
Source References:
80. Type: Web Page, Abbr: Hall Museum, Title: Hall School Museum and Heritage Centre, Locn: https://museum.hall.act.au/
- Reference = https://museum.hall.act.au/display/1939/person/4127/clarice-esther-charl-cavanagh.html (Death)
- Reference = https://museum.hall.act.au/display/1939/person/4127/clarice-esther-charl-cavanagh.html (Marriage)
- Reference = https://museum.hall.act.au/display/1939/person/4127/clarice-esther-charl-cavanagh.html (Birth)
- Reference = https://museum.hall.act.au/display/1939/person/4127/clarice-esther-charl-cavanagh.html (Name, Notes)
- Notes: Born: 1913; Died: 2006

Lieutenant Colonel RL) Clarice Esther 'Charl' Cavanagh
Related Places
Mulligans Flat School
An initial application for a Provisional school was made in 1894, and a two acre site on the...

Strayleaf
'Strayleaf' on Gundaroo Road, Mulligans Flat was occupied by the Cavanagh family from the late...

Clarice Esther Cavanagh was the fourth child of Clarence Bede Cavanagh and Esther Anne (nee Smith) Cavanagh of 'Strayleaf', Mulligans Flat, and was born on 20 July 1913 (although often shown as 1915).

Clarice, known as 'Charl', grew up on her parent's farm 'Strayleaf' and attended Mulligans Flat school in her younger years and then Mt Carmel boarding school at Yass.

"When Charl reached the age at which she could apply for a drivers licence her father decided that her younger sister Pat should be the one to get the licence so that she could help on the farm, but she was too young. Not to be outdone Clarence took young Pat to the licence office with Charl's birth certificate. Pat was given the licence and it showed her as being two years older than she actually was. When it came time for Charl to get her licence she used Pat's birth certificate which showed her as being two years younger. Charl later changed the records to reflect the correct day and month, but kept the year 1915 - perhaps it made her feel two years younger, but it did throw some things out of sequence as the official congratulatory messages she received on her 90th birthday arrived two years after the event.

She wanted nursing as her career, but this wasn't supported by her father as he thought 'nurses smoked too much, drank too much and led a wayward life'. However, not long after that he experienced the support of nurses while in hospital and came to the conclusion that nurses were a fine brand of women and gave her permission to take up her chosen career.

She trained as a nurse at old Canberra Community Hospital at Acton from 1933 to 1937 and then worked at Gundagai and Harden before enlisting in the Australian Army in 1944. She stayed in the Army after the war and served overseas with BCOF in Japan from February 1949 to December 1952. She was then a Sister and Matron at the Royal Military College, Duntroon from 1953 until 1961 and served in Singapore and Malaya in 1963 to 1965.

She returned to RMC, Duntroon until she retired from the army in 1970, during the period that the army was actively involved in the Vietnam war.

Cavanagh, Lt CE RAANC (F2/7) Sister 22/06/1953 – 31/07/1953
Cavanagh, Capt CE RAANC Matron 01/08/1953 – 19/05/1960
Cavanagh, Capt CE RAANC Sister 31/01/1961 – 28/05/1961
Cavanagh, T/Major CE RAANC A/g Matron 29/05/1961 – 23/06/1961
Cavanagh, Capt CE RAANC Sister 24/06/1961 – 22/10/1961
Cavanagh, T/Major CE RAANC A/g Matron 23/10/1961 – 04/11/1961
Cavanagh, Capt CE RAANC Sister 05/11/1961 –1963
Cavanagh, Capt CE RAANC Sister 09/01/1966 – 02/02/1967
Cavanagh, Major CE RAANC Matron 23/06/1969 – 18/07/1970.

In 1973 Sister Cavanagh, Lt Col (RL), was appointed to the Commonwealth Public Service and served as a civilian nursing sister in the RMC outpatients section until 1976.

In 1975 a considerable number of staff and cadets were affected with glandular fever and many required long periods in hospital. The number of in-patients was 429 and 7,699 outpatients attended sick parades.

When she was sixty-five she finally had time to marry to 'Gerry' - Arthur Gerrard O'Callaghan in Goroka, whom she had met in Japan, but sadly he died only two and a half years later.

She was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) for her services to nursing in 1976, and in 2005 the Commandant's residence at Duntroon was named 'Cavanagh House' in her honour.

'Sister Cav' died in 2006 and is buried at the Gungahlin Cemetery, after a funeral service in the Chapel of St. Paul, Duntroon attended by a number of her former cadets – 'boys' who she had looked after during training and their return from Vietnam, some of whom were pall bearers:

"Pall bearers included Lieutenant-General John Coates, Major-General Adrian Clunies-Ross and Major-General Peter Phillips, accompanied by General Sir Phillip Bennett and in the presence of Governor-General Major-General Michael and Mrs Jeffrey".

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