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nurses
play vital role in
artime
Annette Julia Delugar
of Thames
Many of us have learned of the contributions made by our mothers and
grandmothers during WWI and WWII. As the men went off to war, the women left
behind ran the farms or family businesses by
themselves, volunteered for the war effort, or
worked in jobs most often taken by men.
But some went to war themselves.
Around the turn of the century, women
were making strides in the workplace.
The sufferage movement was building steam;
and women were active in the temperance
movement. They were midwives, teachers,
and missionaries. The bicycle craze gave
a boost to women’s sense of freedom and
independence. Then in 1914 came World
War I, with its obvious need for doctors
and nurses.
Early nurse volunteers from New Zealand
joined with the Australian or English nurses. In early 1915
the New Zealand Army Nursing Services was formed, and the first 50 NZ nurses
shipped out 8 April aboard the Steamer Rotoruaarriving in England 5 weeks later.
The NZANS nurses served in a variety of locations: hospital or transport ships,
evacuation camps, and more established recovery hospitals. They served in
Eqypt, England, France, and at the camp at Sarpi on the Greek island of Lemnos.
They often faced difficult and traumatising working conditions: Waves of ghastly
casualties, men sick with dysentery, suffering from starvation or frostbite, and
disabled from gas attacks. This was not what they imagined they’d signed up for.
Two main hospitals on the Coromandel trained nurses – Thames and Waihi –
along with hospitals at Mercury Bay and Coromandel. Those listed below were
associated with area hospitals. Other nurses either grew up here or returned to
the area to live after the war. (See
THAMES: Cora Beattie Anderson, Christina Campbell,
Ethelwyn Carruth, Ada Maud Carver, Annette Julia Delugar,
Lilly Eddy, Clara Elizabeth Hawkins, Jessie Isabella Shaw.
WAIHI: Margaret Campbell, Margaret Emily Herbert,
Isabella Isdell, Edith Hilda Lewis, Henrietta Barbara
Maberley, Emily Freeman Mitchell, Rose Newdick, Ann
Stewart.
MERCURY BAY: Gertrude May Liepst, Margaret Hamilton
McIlwraith.
DAVID WILTON honoured by the NZ Archeology Assn.
The NZAA awarded its 2015 Public Archaeology Award to The Treasury’s David
Wilton (seen right) in recognition of his
long-term work in bringing the history
and archaeology of the Thames
Goldfields to the wider public.
David actually lives in Auckland,
where he lectures in the Institute
of Information and Mathematical
Sciences at Massey in Albany, yet he
has spent many years tramping the
hills around Thames to record new
sites and upgrade the information (using GPS) held in ArchSite for sites from the
gold mining era. Members of NZAA have enjoyed David’s regular presentations
describing his treks. He has also worked with Thames High School pupils on a
unit involving the use of GPSs to find various sites around Thames.
His writings can be found in A rchaeology in New Zealand as well as on many
pages of The Treasury’s websites and its books (especially the chapter on the
Coromandel’s war memorials in From Goldmines to Firing Line.) David has
been a volunteer at The Treasury since 2004, as writer, lecturer and oral history
recorder. He has a book on the archaeology of the Thames area set for next year.
Milly’s on Main 078647464
236 Main Road in Tairua
KAYLA 078689063
522 Pollen Street in Thames
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