“She didn’t think she deserved it’: Trailblazing nurse’s humble legacy lives on

Sister Cecily Steptoe, who became Townsville’s first Woman of the Year, has died aged 96 after dedicating her life to healthcare on Magnetic Island.

(Left) Tina Leggett with her mother Cecily Steptoe. Sister Steptoe was the Townsville's first Woman of the Year in 1982. Picture: Supplied

Townsville’s very first ‘Woman of the Year’ Sister Cecily Steptoe has died, leaving behind a legacy of selfless service to the community.

Sister Steptoe, who started the Magnetic Island Clinic, died after a short illness and a stay at the Palliative Care Unit at Townsville University Hospital.

The 96 year old has been remembered by her daughter Tina Leggett as conscientious, always professional and hardworking.

Sister Steptoe, who donated her body to the university, asked for a memorial mass with no advertising and no eulogies, with family and friends gathering for the mass a week after her passing.

A single mother of four children living on Magnetic Island, Sister Steptoe started the Magnetic Island Clinic, as well as other community services on the island including the Blue Nurses and Meals on Wheels.

(Left) Ms Leggett said that her mother Sister Cecily Steptoe while delighted to be named the Woman of the Year, but didn't think she deserved the to honour. Picture: Supplied

“In the early years she only had one day off a month, and there was no doctor or any other medical person on the island so she was very busy,” Ms Leggett said.

“The clinic was open every morning from Monday to Saturday and should have only been opened for emergencies after hours. However, I remember our evening meals were often disturbed by people who had come off the last boat from the mainland.”

Living next to the clinic Ms Leggett remembered her and her three siblings helping their mother out when they could.

“When we were watching TV of an evening, she’d have us kids making cotton wool swabs and cutting rolls of combine ready for autoclaving,” she said.

“The original clinic was in a great position on the esplanade in Nelly Bay. It was in a block of two flats, we lived in one flat and the clinic was in the other.”

Ms Leggett said she remembered her mother being stunned when she was awarded the inaugural Woman of the Year.

“I think she assumed that no one even knew who she was, apart from the islanders and her employers at the Townsville General Hospital,” Ms Leggett said.

“She was delighted of course, but didn’t think she deserved it and wasn’t comfortable being in the limelight.

“She told me there must have been plenty of other women in Townsville who were more deserving. One of the other nominees was her boss, the matron of TGH, so that was a bit awkward.”

A newspaper clipping from when Sister Steptoe was named Woman of the Year. Picture: Supplied

Woman of the Year wasn’t the only honour Sister Steptoe received, she was also awarded the British Empire Medal in 1972 for gallantry during Cyclone Althea.

Ms Leggett remembers the cyclone well.

“It was very scary, very loud, and we kids narrowly escaped being crushed under a wall. Mum was in the clinic treating people who had been injured by flying debris so she told us to shelter under a bed beneath the wall,” she said.

“Mum was a bit embarrassed about the medal. She said that other people had risked their lives or worked just as hard, namely the policeman, the ambulance man and the soldiers drafted in to help.”

Ms Leggett said her mother spent the last four years of her life at Bolton Clarke Retirement Village in Rowes Bay.

“Until the very end she’d walk out along the coastal path most afternoons and sit on the bench facing the island,” Ms Leggett said.

“Contemplating the 19 years she spent there looking after the islanders and bringing up her children.”

Originally published as “She didn’t think she deserved it’: Trailblazing nurse’s humble legacy lives on