Victoria Alexandrina Muriel May, Baroness Plunket (17 May 1873 – 11 February 1968) was a nursing association founder and

vicereine A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

. After marrying William Lee Plunket, she moved to New Zealand and later the UK. Influenced by the health reformer

Truby King Sir Frederic Truby King (1 April 1858 – 10 February 1938), generally known as Truby King, was a New Zealand health reformer and Director of Child Welfare. He is best known as the founder of the Plunket Society. Early life King was born in N ...

, she gave her name to and was a patron of the

Plunket Society The Royal New Zealand Plunket Trust provides a range of free services aimed at improving the development, health and wellbeing of children under the age of five within New Zealand, where it is commonly known simply as Plunket. Its mission is ...

founded by Truby King in New Zealand, offering free health services to mothers and children. She was also a patron of the Mothercraft Training Society.

Early life

Victoria Alexandrina Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood was born in Ottawa, Canada, on 17 May 1873. She was the youngest daughter and second-youngest child of Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood. Her parents were part of the Anglo-Irish

Protestant Ascendancy The Protestant Ascendancy (also known as the Ascendancy) was the sociopolitical and economical domination of Ireland between the 17th and early 20th centuries by a small Anglicanism, Anglican ruling class, whose members consisted of landowners, ...

. Her older sister, Helen, was involved in nursing and nurses' rights as well as her other older sister, Hermione. She was baptised in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and named after her godmother,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. Her godfather was

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (10 or 11January 18156June 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 until his death in 1891. He was the dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, and had a political ...

, the first

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

. Aged 5, she travelled to Ireland with her family. Blackwood arrived in New Zealand in 1904 but went back to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

with her husband in 1910.

Marriage

At 18, when in Italy, Victoria met William Lee Plunket, 26. They married three years later in Paris. They had 8 children. Following her husband's death, she married Francis Powell Braithwaite on 1 October 1920.

Work

Victoria gave her name to the

, a New Zealand society promoting the health and well-being of mothers and children, after meeting

, whose work she admired. She came up with an idea of a special guild of

district nurses District nurses work manage care within the community and lead teams of community nurses and support workers. In the United Kingdom, the role requires registered nurses to take a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) approved specialist practitione ...

who promoted good diet and nutrition, hygiene, fresh air and

breastfeeding Breastfeeding, also known as nursing, is the process where breast milk is fed to a child. Infants may suck the milk directly from the breast, or milk may be extracted with a Breast pump, pump and then fed to the infant. The World Health Orga ...

(or 'humanised' milk, if breastfeeding was impossible) for babies. These services were to be free to all mothers. She was a patron of the Mothercraft Training Society.

Death

Lady Victoria Braithwaite (as she was then styled) died on 11 February 1968 at the Penywern Nursing Home, London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plunket, Victoria Blackwood family

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Daughters of British marquesses British baronesses 1873 births 1968 deaths