Hester Maclean, (25 February 1859 – 2 September 1932) was an Australian-born nurse, hospital matron, nursing administrator, editor and writer who spent most of her career in New Zealand. She served in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as the founding Matron-in-Chief of the

New Zealand Army Nursing Service The New Zealand Army Nursing Service (NZANS) formally came into being in early 1915, when the Army Council in London accepted an offer of nurses to help in the war effort during the First World War from the New Zealand Government. The heavy losses ...

, and was one of the first nurses to be awarded the

Florence Nightingale Medal The Florence Nightingale Medal is an international award presented to those distinguished in nursing and named after British nurse Florence Nightingale. The medal was established in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), f ...

Early life

Maclean was born in

Sofala Sofala , at present known as Nova Sofala , used to be the chief seaport of the Mwenemutapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique. The first recorded use of this port town w ...

in the

Colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

on 25 February 1859. Her parents were Emily (née Strong) and Harold Maclean. She was educated at private schools and was inspired by her father's nurse to become a nurse herself. Maclean trained at Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, completing her certificate in 1893.

Career

After completing her training, Maclean nursed in a number of hospitals in New South Wales and Victoria, including the

Royal Women's Hospital The Royal Women's Hospital, located in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville, is Australia's oldest specialist women's hospital. It offers a full range of services in maternity, gynaecology, neonatal care, women's cancers and women's health. It also ...

in Melbourne and Kogarah Hospital in Sydney. In 1905 she travelled to England and trained in midwifery. On her return to Sydney, she successfully applied for the position of Assistant Inspector of Hospitals in Wellington, and moved to New Zealand in 1906 to replace Grace Neill, who was retiring. She held the position for 17 years under Thomas Valintine, the Inspector of Hospitals. During her tenure, Maclean was responsible for establishing schemes for rural district nursing, native health nurses and school nurses. She also oversaw the extension of the St. Helen's hospitals for midwifery training. As Assistant Inspector, with Jessie Bicknell and Amelia Bagley, she played a major role in the implementation of the Midwives Act 1904 and setting midwifery standards. In 1907, Maclean proposed the establishment of a journal for nurses to exchange ideas and keep up to date with the latest international developments in nursing. She produced and funded the magazine herself, with the first issue appearing in January 1908. Maclean continued to operate the journal until her retirement in 1923; she then sold it to the Registered Nurses Association, but retained the position of editor until her death. After some encouragement during her travels around the country on inspections, the four provincial nursing associations amalgamated in 1909 into the New Zealand Trained Nurses Association. Maclean was elected the first national president and remained active in the organisation for the remainder of her life. Maclean also established the

(NZANS) and led the first large contingent of New Zealand nurses overseas in the

, embarking with 50 nurses on the ''Rotorua'' in April 1915. Among other tasks, Maclean designed the NZANS's uniform. In 1923, Maclean retired from the Department of Health and wrote her autobiography, ''Nursing in New Zealand'', which was published in 1932. Maclean died in Wellington on 2 September 1932. She was buried in

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is the second-largest cemetery in New Zealand. It opened in 1891, and is located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it recei ...

, after a full military funeral.

Awards

In 1917 Maclean was awarded the

Royal Red Cross The Royal Red Cross (RRC) is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing. It was created in 1883, and the first two awards were to Florence Nightingale and Jane Cecilia Deeb ...

, first class. In June 1920 The International Red Cross, Geneva awarded her the

Artist

MacLean was also a keen amateur watercolourist. She exhibited at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. Two of her works are in the collection of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington. After her death a number of her watercolour sketches were sold to benefit the Registered Nurses' Association.

Early life

Career

Awards

Artist

References

Further reading