Biography
Lieutenant Marion Fleming NFX 165666 Australian Army Medical Women’s Service (AAMWS)
Marion Fleming was a boarder at Presbyterian Ladies’ College at Pymble hailing from Aberdeen in country NSW. She was a dedicated student, elected to the role of Head Prefect in her final year and Captain of the ‘A’ Senior Netball team. She also contributed a poem to the School Magazine with a message of farewell and pride in Pymble Ladies’ College and its traditions.
Lieutenant Fleming served in the 109th Australian General Hospital in Alice, NT, towards the end of World War II.
Marion Babbage (Fleming, 1929) passed away on January 1 1992.
Letters and Photos
NFX 165666
Lieut M.Fleming
109 A.G.H.
Alice Springs
29 Jan 1945
Dear Miss Knox
Thank you for your New Year card of good wishes for 1945. I do appreciate being remembered by my old school.
It’s several months now since I arrived in the Territory – years ago I didn’t think I’d ever have an opportunity to visit Central Australia. It is not all a land of spinifex and sand, there are some grass lands when it rains – unfortunately there isn’t enough rain.
Have been for several picnics to such beauty spots as Simpsons Gap which is a narrow gap between the hills several miles out of Alice. The rocks on either side rise to hundreds and hundreds of feet and are of the most vivid autumn shades turning to red. Stanleys Chasm is much further out and has, like Simpsons Gap, a lovely pool of clear cold water between the rocks. The rocks at Stanleys are more beautiful than Simpsons and are flecked with black and white plants growing up the face of the rocks, clinging to almost nothing were flannel flowers and along the approach some burrawong palms – rather amazing. All the hills change colour from pale pinks to deep purple and blue and are never the same.
In March, sometime, at Anthony Horderns Sydney there is to be held an exhibition of water colours painted by the full blooded aboriginal Albert Namatjira – I have seen all the exhibition unframed, and when one realized that Albert has only been painting for 10 years, he will later on be a wonderful painter if he improves as he has done lately.
His early paintings are also shown. His teacher, Mr Rex Battersby is a patient in our hospital.
Yours sincerely
Marion Fleming
PS.The colourings in Alberts paintings are NOT exaggerated.
