First matron.
In 187o Maitland Hospital appointed its first trained nurse, Elizabeth Morrow. In 1872 she became matron and superintendent of the hospital, and served efficiently and with praise in that capacity until her death in 1886.
Her early years in the hospital met with opposition from the male resident surgeon, Richard Bellamey, who she replaced. Bellamey argued that a woman was not suited or able to provide the same level of care and medical supervision as he could and, indeed, he accused her of improper behaviour with male patients. Morrow took Bellamey to court for defamation. She won her case.
The praise Morrow received while working at the hospital, and after her death, affirm her as a significant figure in the history of Maitland Hospital and, more broadly, as an example of the transition in the nursing profession from nurses as largely untrained domestic workers to professionals with training and a wide range of skills. Morrow was praised for her clinical and management skills, her willingness to train new nursing staff, her kindness and humility, and her treatment of all patients equally.
It is fitting that a tribute to Morrow occupies the fifth vitrine embedded in the timeline in the new Maitland Hospital.
First matron, New Maitland Hospital, January 2022.
Susan O’Doherty, First matron, 2021
latex, lace, felt, textiles, glass brooch and wood
56 x 20 x 20cm
(Maitland Hospital Collection 423)
Inspired by the stories about Morrow and by Morrow’s portrait, artist Susan O’Doherty created a textile sculpture of the hospital’s first matron. O’Doherty saw Morrow as ‘a stoic, determined, strong-minded woman staring directly ahead, her hair bunched with a nurse’s cap, dark plain dress and brooch’.
The sculpture is a smaller version of the portrait O’Doherty created for the exhibition, A Conspicuous Object - The Maitland Hospital.
Visit Stitched together to view and learn about O’Doherty’s twelve textile sculptures of women who have worked in the Maitland Hospital. Elizabeth Morrow sits proudly at the front of the group.
Copy of a portrait of Elizabeth Morrow.
(Maitland Hospital Collection 349)
The original portrait was commissioned by Maitland Hospital in 1886, following Morrow’s death. The portrait was described as ‘a work .. in oils from a carte de visite, and is a wonderfully true likeness of the charitable and good lady whom it represents’ (Maitland Mercury, 2 November 1886). The portrait was created by local photographer Fred Bowman.
The portrait was subsequently hung among other portraits - all of men - commissioned by the hospital to honour benefactors.
Unfortunately, as with all the portraits commissioned by the hospital during the nineteenth century, the original portrait of Elizabeth Morrow has disappeared. A framed photographic copy (right) has survived and, for some time, hung on the walls of the hospital’s executive suite.
Visit Enclosed in a gilt frame to learn more about the portraits of benefactors, including the portrait of Morrow, commissioned by the Maitland Hospital.
Nurse’s cap, 1950s/1960s.
(Maitland Hospital Collection 97)
The nurse’s cap represents the uniforms worn by nurses. From the time of Florence Nightingale, uniforms were designed to identify the profession and symbolise the cleanliness, care and skills provided by nurses.
Graduation leather wallet and unfilled in cards for attendance at the nurses’ training school and for the award of the Edna Davies Memorial Prize.
(Maitland Hospital Collection 294)
The Maitland Hospital was formally recognised as a training institution for nurses in 1902 and continued in this role until nurses’ training transferred to the tertiary education sector in the late 1980s. The hospital was also among the first in regional areas to establish a Preliminary Training School for nurses.
Visit The way we were for a timeline of key dates in the history of nursing at Maitland Hospital.
Visit Janis Wilton, ‘Elizabeth Morrow’, Views of Maitland, P546, for more details about Elizabeth Morrow.