From Mrs. Holgate

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume VIII, Issue 2, 1 April 1915, Page 100

From Mrs. Holgate

Mrs. Holgate writes of her voyage Home, on the " lonic." " We seem to have travelled m all directions ; sometimes travelling North and South, we find the boat suddenly turned m the direction of East and West. This we understand takes place when a sus - pi cious -looking monster is seen. We were grateful on arrival at Monte Video to hear that there had been a successful battle off the Falklands." Mrs. Holgate and Miss Dalrymple spent a night on shore at Monte Video. The lights were always out except when m port. The next port was Teneriffe, where they spent a day. On arrival m London the two nurses reported themselves at the High Commissioner's Office, and at the Red Cross and St. John's Ambulance Offices, and made an appointment with Miss Sydney Brown, Chief Matron of the Territorial Service, and Mrs. Holgate was expecting an official reply to her offer to help the Belgian women. She noticed that food was very dear, and also coal and gas ; that the portion of food served m restaurants was smaller. There seemed to be some fear, of the food j'Tipply m England becoming scarce.

They thought of possibly going to Cairo ; but there was an idea of the Turks besieging Cairo , and that the Government would not take English women there, and that the nursing would be done by orderlies. In view of the above, some notes from a diary sent home by Dr. Harry McLean Wellington, now m Egypt, are of interest to nurses. " In the afternoon I went down to the Abassia Hospital to see some of my men. The Australian nurses here may have to leave as the Australian Hospital outfit has arrived, and they will be establishing their own hospital. It seems a pity that with so many New Zealand men laid up m hospital we have not our own nurses here to look after them, especially as one knows that m New Zealand there are dozens of nurses eating their hearts out to come." To look after his Colonel who was suffering with a bad attack of quinsy, Dr. McLean had to enlist the services of an Officer's wife, who had been a nurse, and who was very glad of the opportunity of making herself useful.