ARMY NURSING CORPS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7023, 11 January 1910, Page 6

ARMY NURSING CORPS

FORMATION AT CAMBRIDGE. SPECIAL TO THE " TIMES." CAMBRIDGE, January 10. On Saturday, Dr Purdie, District Health Officer of Auckland, and recently appointed Chief Health Officer of Tasmania, paid a farewell visit to Te Waikato Sunaboriuin, Cambridge. Colonel Allan 8011, of Hamilton, several members of tho Waikato Ladies' Mounted Ambulance Corps, and Dr Brewis and Dr Eraser Hurst were among the aunierons visitors. Colonel Bell presided over a. meeting convened to hear Dr Purdie explain the schemo for tho formation of tho Army Nursing Corps, now under consideration by the Defence Council. The main idcu is that girls, in the interregnum between leaving school and taking up household duties, should be thoroughly educated] in such duties, and grounded in' the sub-, ject of probationary nursing, so that intime of war the authorities would be, able to command the services of an efficiently-trained band of nurses, and u, skilled body of domestio workers. Boys have now compulsory training, and Jliss' Roehfort, the matron of the Waikato l Sanatorium, and convener of Saturday's gathering,' is one of a large number of people who believe in this compulsory training for girls, which is, in, ftict, an elaboration of the work of the Red Cross, Society in England. p l ti. is -.I" 10 ?™ tkart the trained nursea oi the Dominion approve highly of tho scheme, and already thirty-six' trained nurses in Auckland have volunteered their seryaces. So far the suggestion for the foundation of the Army Nursing Corps' has mot publicly travelled beyond the' province of Auckland, but it is confidently anticipated that as soon as the framed nurses in other provinces are acquainted with the proposal to form such a. corps the volunteer list will show how widely spread is the patriots' Zealand to help their country i n time" o± necessity. , \l s J^ Dr Purdie stated; Ins belief that m a very short time tt3 members of the Army Nursing Corps l would number 5000 qualified women. *• Miss Roehfort was emphatic in the expression of .opinion that woman's in-1 stmotive desire for nursing, and her iiw S'l'te 5 . 0 ' adventure, would quickly! ■ lead to tho formation of an Army Nurs'ahUity requisite strength and>