Marcia Daley: ‘Loved and respected’ Alice Springs nurse dies at the age of 95

A nurse and mother-of-two who served the Red Centre for three decades is being remembered as ‘a wonderful nurse’ who ‘served our Alice Springs community very well’.

Pat and Marcia Daley. Picture: Supplied

A legendary NT nurse who worked for three decades in myriad roles at the Alice Springs Hospital while mentoring generations of health professionals has been hailed as a “great Centralian” after her death aged 95.

Marcia Daley, known to all as Sister Daley, died at Wallaroo on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula on Tuesday.

From the early 1960s to her retirement in about 1990, Sister Daley was a part of the furniture at the Alice Springs Hospital.

In the 1960s and 1970s, she was the strict but motherly boss of Ward 4, the tuberculosis ward, before she was moved to Ward 6, the medical ward, followed by a series of senior management roles at the hospital, including sister-in-charge.

Her son Dennis Daley said his mum was a “good woman gone to heaven” to join her much-loved husband, his father Pat.

Mr Daley said as a mother, Sister Daley was “strict but fair”.

“She went a long way out of her way to look after myself and my brother Andrew,” he said.

“And we weren’t easy kids to look after, particularly in our teenage years. We were very naughty.”

A legendary group of Alice Springs nurses: Kay Hawkins, Marcia Daley, Ruth McKenzie-Campbell and Margaret Waite (front).

Sister Daley was born in the Sydney suburb of Ryde and began her nursing career at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, now The Alfred.

After stints working in the Snowy Mountains, Sister Daley relocated to the Northern Territory, where she worked at the Tennant Creek Hospital.

It was in the Barkly township that she met Pat Daley, who she married in a ceremony in her hometown of Sydney.

The newlyweds then moved to Alice Springs where Dennis and Andrew were born – exactly a year apart to the day.

“That shows a degree of planning, I think,” Mr Daley said, tongue-in-cheek.

Outside of her professional life, Sister Daley was a dedicated churchgoer and reliable member of the Alice Springs Memorial Bowls Club.

Pat and Marcia Daley. Picture: Supplied

Mildura woman Helen Jack (nee Sinclair) worked at ASH from 1980–1990.

“She had a reputation of being firm but fair and I always respected her for this,” Mrs Jack told the NT News.

“She set high standards and expected the same from her nurses.

“She was a very experienced and professional nurse and she would often spend time helping her junior nurses to learn.”

Former colleague Barb Glover called Mrs Daley a “great Centralian”.

“I had the privilege to work with Marcia in my many different roles at ASH, both old and new, from 1974 onwards,” Ms Glover said.

“Marcia was loved and respected by the Alice Springs community.

“She taught many nurses, supported many nurses and patients, and also found time to give to the community.”

Former Alice Springs councillor Sandy Taylor was another to leave her condolences.

“[We] had the deepest respect for (her),” Ms Taylor said.

“She was a wonderful nurse, and served our Alice Springs community very well.”