The way we were.
In 1996 Esme Meehan’s Maitland Hospital: the way we were was published. As she explains:
“... now was an appropriate time to put together a book of all the graduate nurses of the Maitland Hospital, as the ‘old’ system of training nurses at hospital ceased in 1987.”
The publication is a rich source of information about individual nurses and about the history of nursing at Maitland Hospital more broadly. It is illustrated throughout with photographs and newspaper excerpts.
Left: Front cover of Esme Meehan, Maitland Hospital: the way we were.
The following timeline and notes on nursing at Maitland Hospital are based and build on Esme Meehan’s work.
1870
arrival of first trained nurse, Elizabeth Morrow, who from 1872 was matron and superintendent of the hospital until her death in 1886
1889
Pierce Memorial Nurses’ Home established - early community nursing
Australian Trained Nurses’ Association (ATNA) formed
1902
ATNA recognised Maitland Hospital as a training institution for nurses - lectures given by the matron and local doctors
1915-1918
a number of Maitland Hospital trained nurses volunteered for the First World War
1916
separate isolation ward with separate isolation nurses’ residence completed
1919
Spanish flu arrived in Maitland - nurse Molly Carr, who nursed influenza patients, died from the disease
1924
NSW Nurses’ Registration Act - Nurses’ Registration Board assumed responsibility for training of nurses in NSW
1926
Maitland Hospital registered under the 1924 Nurses’ Registration Act as a training hospital for general nurses
1928
first stage of the nurses’ residence opened
1930
first Gold Medal awarded by the Maitland Hospital Board to the nurse who obtained the highest proficiency during training; the award was made annually until 1987
1938
second stage of the nurses’ residence opened - included a room for a Preliminary Training School (PTS) for nurses
1947
Edna Davies Memorial Prize established - annual award to 4th year nurse ‘who combined in the highest degree, the characteristics of practical nursing, courtesy and kindness to patients and their friends, and co-operation with fellow workers’. Last awarded in 1988.
first reunion of former trained Maitland Hospital nurses
1960
new R L Williams Memorial Nurses Home completed
1967
Nurses’ Registration Board approved Maitland Hospital as a training school for nursing aides
1985
nurse training transferred to the tertiary education sector
1987
graduation of last Maitland Hospital trained nurses
1993
original nurses’ home demolished