Selina Murray McDonald Sutherland (26 December 1839 – 8 October 1909) was a New Zealand nurse and social worker. She was born in Culgower,

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

shire,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1839. She came to New Zealand in 1865 and went to visit her sister Margaret Grant in

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

in the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...

. Trained in medicine she helped many people during their illness. The central Wairarapa had neither doctor nor hospital. Sutherland was the driving force behind the establishment of the hospital in

Masterton Masterton () is a large town in the Wellington Region, Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand that operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa ...

in 1879. She raised the funds to build a 20-bed facility and collected most of the money herself. In the same year she became matron at Wellington Hospital but left in the following year after disputes with management. She lived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, after 1881 and devoted herself to the care of destitute children and the arrangement of foster homes. Sutherland initiated the Neglected Children's Aid Society later obtaining the support of the Presbyterian Church. Ultimately the Victorian Neglected Children's Aid Society was formed. The Sutherland Home in Parkville was named after her. She died in Melbourne in 1909 from

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant d ...

and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. She is commemorated in Wairarapa Hospital by a memorial tablet. Sutherland was inducted onto the

Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. It was launched by The Hon. Joan Kirner AC as a joint initiative of the Centenary of Federation Victoria Comm ...

in 2010.

Selina Sutherland Hospital

Established in 1996 Selina Sutherland Hospital is a private hospital run by a not-for-profit charitable trust. It was provided with its own building within the new Masterton Public Hospital’s complex completed in 2006. Inpatient services include orthopaedic surgery, ophthalmology and gynaecology.Selina Sutherland Hospital website
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References

External links

* 1839 births 1909 deaths New Zealand nurses New Zealand social workers Scottish emigrants to New Zealand People from Sutherland 19th-century New Zealand people New Zealand women nurses Deaths from pneumonia in Victoria (state) {{NewZealand-med-bio-stub