[2] In 1934 she travelled to Papua New Guinea as a missionary,[4] landing in Port Moresby on 31 July.

[6][1] She joined the 2/13th Australian General Hospital on 20 December,[1] serving in Malacca, Malaysia and Singapore following the Japanese advance.

[4] Together with 65 Australian nurses and over 250 civilian men, women and children, she was evacuated from Singapore three days before the fall of Malaya.

The soldiers were bayoneted and the nurses were ordered to march into the sea at Radji Beach,[2][7] where they were shot.

[1][8][9][10][11][12] Halligan was commemorated in a Last Post ceremony at the Australian War Memorial on 9 February 2020.