The 85-year-old former Palmwoods woman and nursing legend is the focus of Pixie Annat: Champion of Nurses by Brisbane writer Colleen Ryan Clur.

Pixie spent the first 15 years of her life on the Coast before moving to Brisbane with her family. She said she regularly returned to the Coast for holidays because it held a special place in her heart. She has a great sense of humour and loves to tell a yarn. As a result, the book is full of stories from her childhood on a small Sunshine Coast farm, through to her training as a nurse at the Royal Brisbane Hospital shortly after the Second World War, and then to her involvement in a decades-long campaign to improve training and conditions for nurses.

“I never imagined in my wildest dreams that anyone would write a book about me,” Pixie said.”

Colleen began interviewing me a couple of years ago for her book and we worked together extensively in 2014 to get it completed.

She wanted it to be published in time for Ellie and my 85th birthday, and it was a very happy occasion on which to launch the book:

“Service has been the golden thread of Pixie’s life, connecting her many roles. She has been the matron and chief executive officer of St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital, nursing leader and a dedicated fundraiser and campaigner for a host of causes.

“During a working life where women, and particularly nurses, were often undervalued, Pixie stared down many an adversary who underestimated her resolve. Yet she had a knack for persuasion, employing her intelligence and civility to change many minds.

After retiring as CEO of St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital in 1992, Pixie continued to make a huge impact, immersing herself in charitable projects as diverse as supporting homeless women, providing scholarships for nurses and volunteering at hospitals.

Despite it being 70 years since she lived on the Sunshine Coast, Pixie said she had “so many happy memories” of her family here, which was what kept her coming back.

“We had no telephone, electricity or running water, but we had a happy childhood and helped our parents on the farm.

“We often had holidays close to the beach.”

Originally published as YOUR STORY: Nursing legend Pixie Annat’s story told