Hannah Wood

Hannah Wood (c. 1827–1903) was a nurse in the Northern Territory of Australia. She arrived there from the UK in September 1875, joining her husband, James Wood, who had arrived a few months earlier.

Early life Wood was born to Jan and Thomas Inch in England around 1827. She worked as a nurse for the British government for several years. In 1859 she became assistant matron of Millbank Prison, resigning in 1864 to become a matron on ships taking single women to Australia. In 1880 James Wood died of dysentery and Hannah returned to nursing to support herself. Wood would petition to the UK for the Queen Anne's Bounty, however this was refused on the grounds that most of her work had occurred in Australia and not in England.

Following an accident in 1902 that hospitalised Wood for considerable time the community petitioned to the government for the procurement of a special pension. They outlined her service to the community from escorting new migrants to Australia to efforts in providing nursing services. The Minister for the Northern Territory (then part of South Australia) offered if necessary a bed in the Palmerston Hospital but declined the pension. Woods decline this offer, preferring to remain in her home; her body was found on 16 July 1903.

Because no Catholic priest was in the region, the funeral service for Wood was conducted by a member of the railway staff. A newspaper report after the service expressed displeasure about the lack of attendance, given how much she had done for the community over the years.