Awards 2021

Elaine McArthur

Elaine has dedicated her life to helping others. She became a nurse over 50 years ago and has worked as a Midwife/Nurse in the Katherine region for the past 40 years. During this time, Elaine has volunteered almost every Friday at the local Christian Bethel Bookshop where she sells items, cleans, sets up displays and interacts with the public.

Elaine travelled to overseas countries and volunteered her services as a young nurse, midwife or a general hand to assist with cleaning or other menial tasks that required doing. Elaine has volunteered at an Aids Orphanage in Nairobi, a Mercy Hospital Ship off the west African coast and assisted in setting up Midwifery Clinics in Papua New Guinea.

Leading up to her retirement in 2019, Elaine completed her Diploma in Chaplaincy so that she could volunteer at Katherine Hospital after she had retired. She has been the volunteer Chaplain there for the past two years where she has interacted with many people whilst they were in Palliative Care, giving them someone to talk to and someone to just listen to their fears or concerns about themselves or their loved ones during a very difficult time in their life.

Elaine has also been a phenomenal contributor to the Katherine Women's Crisis Centre. For more than two years, she has sorted donated goods and clothing into sizes, toiletries into allotted bags providing some dignity to women in very difficult situations. The Centre has been significantly short staffed for many months. Staff are fatigued and their capacity shortened. This is where Elaine is a treasure," says Jo, the Executive Officer of the Crisis Centre. "She assists with so many tasks, has reduced the stress and increased the capacity of staff to support the women and children in the community experiencing domestic and sexual violence. “She keeps us organised and ordered which is so amazing." 

This year, Elaine also started volunteering as part of the Kalano Family’s First Teachers Program, where she sets up activities for parents to learn how to interact with and play and teach their children.

The Katherine Hospital is also a large part of Elaine’s Life and even when she is not carrying out Chaplaincy duties, Elaine visits the Hospital almost daily, dropping off magazines to the nurses on duty in the Maternity Ward or just having a chat.

Elaine is a very humble woman who may think she is undeserving of this Award, but Elain McArthur is very much an NT Senior of Excellence.

Elaine was nominated by Belinda Mcarthurs