Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Christina Bregenzer was born in Bundarra and grew up in Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.

Women would generally do housework or become a nurse, which is what Christina did before the war occurred.

Christina was a single 26-year-old Australian woman when she enlisted to serve in World War One. Due to the fact that she was single and had no children, unlike many women of her age at the time, the war had given her an opportunity to have a different life to the one she was used to.

In this time, women, in general, did not have many opportunities to travel or have independence. This applied to Christina significantly as she did not have a husband or children. This was important in the early 1900s as women were often thought of as not being independent without their families. Also due to limited capacity for travel, the war offered her an opportunity to travel in unique circumstances and visit places beyond Australia. She may also have felt like the war would give her a sense of purpose and that she could be of service to her country. Due to the great lack of nurses, it was essential for women to keep enlisting.

As mentioned above, Christina was unlikely to have travelled before and even less been by herself with her family far away from her, therefore it was likely that it was a frightening experience on top of the fact that she was about to encounter the war and the devastating effects it had. Nurses worked extremely gruelling shifts with having witnessed unimaginable horrors and had to work for a long time with very little rest. They also did not have the chance to eat very often and there was a lack of food due to rationing. This may have added to the fear that Christina may have had. Fresh water was also short in supply, so it was difficult for nurses to keep themselves clean and hydrated, and many cut off their hair to make washing easier.

The work that she had to do, along with many other nurses, was physically and mentally draining for them and had caused many difficulties in treating men. 

All nurses had shown a great amount of ANZAC spirit and played a significant role in the war. Christina had shown devotion by serving our country with pride and bravery & courage. As mentioned before, it was extremely difficult and scarring for nurses in the war because of many reasons, and she had shown that she showed these qualities by going to war and serving our country. Christina had also shown comradery by saving many soldiers’ lives, despite the challenges that she had to face in the war. Christina returned home to Australia on the 21st of April 1919 and died in 1963.

Born 12 August 1891 at Bundarra, NSW
Daughter of Louis BREGENZER and Christina nee MUNRO
Of Mugie Moss, St Marks Rd, Randwick, NSW
Aged 25 years
Enlisted 12 June 1917 in Sydney
Embarked 13 September 1917 per “Runic”
Served in Abbassia, Egypt
Returned to Australia 21 April 1919 per “Port Sydney” On Duty
Appointment terminated 25 May 1919
Married Wilmot FENWICK
Died in Forbes, NSW in 1963

Mentioned in Despatches
For conspicuous services rendered 19 September 1918 to 31 January 1919
Third Supplement No 31383 The London Gazette dated 05 June 1919
And promulgated in the “Commonwealth of Australia Gazette” No 113 dated 06 October 1919