Eve van Grafhorst

Eve van Grafhorst
Born(1982-07-17)17 July 1982
St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia
Died20 November 1993(1993-11-20) (aged 11)
Hastings, New Zealand
OccupationStudent
Known forHIV-related controversy in Australia

Eve van Grafhorst (17 July 1982 – 20 November 1993) was one of the first Australian children to be infected with HIV via a blood transfusion. She became the centre of a controversy in 1985 when she was banned from her local pre-school amid fears she might infect other children.[1]

Van Grafhorst was born prematurely in 1982, and required eleven blood transfusions to save her life. One of the transfusions was contaminated, and she contracted HIV.[2]

In February 1985, her parents enrolled her in a pre-school in Kincumber, New South Wales. When she bit another child,[3] the state medical officer for New South Wales said van Grafhorst should be barred from daycare until she was older.[3] After her condition became known, parents of other preschoolers threatened to withdraw their children if she was re-enrolled, saying that the young girl posed a grave threat of infection.[2][4] She was eventually permitted to attend school, provided she wore a plastic face mask at all times.[5] Some parents felt that was insufficient, and that the van Grafhorsts should leave town.[6]

The van Grafhorsts did leave, moving to Hastings, New Zealand, in 1986.[7] In contrast to their Australian experience, the van Grafhorst family was welcomed in Hastings. Eve lived a relatively normal life, and attended a local school without incident.[8][9]

In 1992, she received a Variety Gold Heart Award. Her story had been widely reported throughout the world and, on her tenth birthday, Eve, dressed as a radiant bride, was sent a letter and autographed photograph of Diana, Princess of Wales. After Eve died at home in 1993, aged 11, her mother, Gloria, received a sympathetic letter from Diana, praising Eve for her "courage and strength".[10]

The 1994 TV documentary All About Eve (in reference to the 1950 film), produced by Vincent Burke and directed by Monique Oomen, is a biography of Eve.[11][12]

  1. ^ "The little girl Australia shunned – remembering Eve van Grafhorst". ABC News. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b "The Gosford dilemma". The Sydney Morning Herald (Good Weekend magazine). 2 September 2014 [12 October 1985].
  3. ^ a b "Daycare refused to girl with AIDS". The Day. New London, Connecticut. 15 October 1985. p. A3.
  4. ^ Sendziuk, Paul (2003). "Denying the Grim Reaper: Australian Responses to AIDS". Eureka Street. Vol. 13, no. 8. pp. 16–19. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2005.
  5. ^ "Minister fires on Destiny Church". The New Zealand Herald. 17 August 2004.
  6. ^ "Editorial: We are not our afflictions". The New Zealand Herald. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Angel Eve helped cut Aids deaths". stuff.co.nz. 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  8. ^ STEWART, MATT (26 October 2015). "Eve van Grafhorst's brave Aids battle made Kiwis kinder – 150 Years of News". Stuff. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  9. ^ HUNT, TOM (22 November 2013). "Remembering Eve's fight against HIV". Stuff. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Message From A Princess". Schools AIDS Day. AIDS Information Services. Archived from the original on 13 July 2006. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  11. ^ "All About Eve". Trove. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  12. ^ "All about Eve: Television – 1994". NZ on screen. Retrieved 28 June 2016.