Obituary

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume XV, Issue 4, 1 October 1926, Page 169

Obituary

MRS. GRACE NEILL. In August there passed away the woman to whom New Zealand nurses owe their professional status of State registration twenty-five years ago. For years Mrs. Grace Neill was a wellknown figure in the hospitals of the Dominion, and the majority of the present Matrons were trained during her term of office and looked up to her as the head of their profession. Born in Edinburgh in 1846, she was trained at the Charing Cross and King's Cross Hospitals, London, where she learnt nursing and hospital management under the Sisters of St. John. She was Matron of the Pendlebury Children's Hospital. After her marriage she came out to Queensland with her husband and son, and from there, where she had already been recognised as a woman of great ability and given public work of importance, she came to New Zealand and was first appointed to the Department of Labour and later transferred to the Department of Hospitals and Charitable Aid under the late Dr. Macgregor. It was here that her great work commenced. She felt that organisation of nursing in the hospitals was needed and a uniform system of training, and to that end drew up a Bill for the Registration of Trained Nurses, which was passed in 1900, and then made the regulations for training and examination. She next prepared a Bill for the registration of midwives and the establishment of training schools for midwives. This was also passed, and her next work was to inaugurate the St. Helen's Hospitals. In all this she acted under and with the co-operation of the late Right Hon. Richard Seddon. The first St. Helen's Hospital was established for the wives of working men, in a small house in Newtown, as an experiment, to see if the scheme would succeed. After success was assured three other hospitals were started. Mrs. Neill was one of the founders of the International Council of Nurses at a meeting held in London in 1899, and it is due to her foresight that New

Zealand nurses were, through the Trained Nurses' Association formed in 1907, able to affiliate with the nurses of the world, and thus be part of a worldwide organisation. It will be remembered that at the last conference of this body New Zealand was well represented. Mrs. Neill resigned in 190G and passed the remainder of her life in retirement ; latterly becoming an invalid confined to bed. She kept her vivid interest in public matters almost to the last and was always glad to welcome those of her old associates who were able to visit her. She was a woman of striking personality, of sympathy, and understanding, and her memory should never fade from the annals of nursing in New Zealand. The death of Miss Christina Neil, trained at Masterton Hospital and St. Helen's, Christchurch, took place in August. Miss Neil was for a time Matron of Ashburton Hospital, and recently had been appointed Matron of the Pleasant Valley Sanatorium. She had only taken up that position a very short time when she had to undergo an operation from which she did not recover. Miss Neil was one of the most conscientious of nurses, devoted to her profession, and an excellent Matron. She was also a masseuse, a member of the I .S.T. in London. She will be a loss to the nursing world. THE REV. MOTHER MARY JOSEPH AUBERT. A long life of wonderful self-sacrifice and devotion to the cause of the sick and suffering came to a close on October 1st, when the beloved Mother Superior of the Home of Compassion passed away after a long illness at the great age of 91. Born in France, Mother Mary came to New Zealand with a mission to the Maoris sixty-five years ago, giving up a luxurious home to face the hardships of a new settlement. A young girl at the time of the Crimean War, she was with the French nursing

sisters on the field of battle at the same time as Florence Nightingale. She was m Rome at the time of the great Messina earthquake, and although aged then rushed to help the sufferers. First undertaking mission work among the Maoris and establishing schools for the children, one of which on the Wanganui River still exists, Mother Mary's chief work was for the old and helpless poor m Wellington. She there established a Home for Incurables m Buckle Street and enlisted a band of sisters to care for them, and at the same time look after babies of working mothers m a creche next door. Later Mother Mary established the Home of Compassion at Island Bay, which will stand as a monument to the great work of this wonderful woman. Here she gathered incurable women and children and also other children, homeless orphans, children of sick mothers m hospital and the little unwanted ones. The strong character and lovable personality of this little French woman gained her a place, quite unique, among philanthropists m New Zealand. She started and showed the way to work for

the poor whcih later have been followed by other organisations. She will be much missed, especially by her devoted Sisterhood of Compassion, which includes three registered nurses, and where the sisters are being trained for the special nursing work of the Order, but her work will live long after her. DR. JOSEPH FRENGLEY. We regret to record the death of Dr. Joseph Frengley, after a long illness, diabetes. Dr. Frengley was well known to many of the nursing profession in his capacity of Deputy Director-General of Health. He frequently visited the hospitals and had a great deal to do with the plans for new buildings, in which he was always glad to have the opinion of the Matrons. Especially in regard to Nurses' Homes he studied the comfort of the staffs and advocated suitable accommodation for all. For a long time much associated with the Nursing Division, his advice and sympathy was most appreciated, and his ready assistance in any difficulty always forthcoming. His being cut off early in life was a great loss to the Department.