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Overview
This New Zealand Registered Nurse badge belonged to Janet Speed (1864-1947). According to the number inscribed on the back of the badge, she was the 254th nurse to be registered.
Janet Speed worked as a nurse during the South African War (1899-1902). The war was the first overseas conflict to involve New Zealand troops. New Zealand sent more than 6500 men, along with about 30 nurses. Seventy-one New Zealanders were killed in action or died of wounds, with another 159 dying in accidents or from disease. Nursing in South Africa was extremely hard work.
However, at the time of the South African War there was no New Zealand army nursing service. Some nurses went to South Africa with official approval but none were paid by the New Zealand government. Local patriotic committees raised funds to send small groups of nurses; others joined the recently formed Princess Christian’s Army Nursing Service Reserve (PCANSR) in Britain, or travelled to South Africa at their own expense. All New Zealand nurses in South Africa were attached to the PCANSR.
Speed was among those nurses who paid their own fare. When she arrived in South Africa in late 1900, she enlisted in the PCANSR and her salary was paid by the British government. She received both the Queen’s and King’s South Africa medals for her service.
Shocked at the inefficiency of the hospitals she had served in during the conflict, Speed resolved to further her knowledge of military nursing. She travelled from South Africa to England in 1902 and undertook a military nursing course at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley (at her own expense). She returned to Wellington in 1903 and became associated with the Order of St John Ambulance District Nursing Guild, and was elected an honorary nursing sister in 1903.
After her marriage in 1904, Janet Gillies (nee Speed) no longer practised as a nurse, but remained committed to nursing issues. She became the first Matron-in-Chief to the New Zealand Medical Corps Nursing Service Reserve formed in 1908. The position brought official status but no salary, and was essentially administrative with no nurses. She met resistance in her efforts to recruit and organise, and was eventually forced to resign in 1910. Her efforts to set up an army nursing service in New Zealand went largely unrecognised during her lifetime. However, her plans were put into practice during the First World War under the direction of her successor, Hester Maclean.
Registered nursing in New Zealand - a world first
When the Nurses’ Registration Act 1901 was enacted, New Zealand became the first country in the world to legally require nurses to be registered.
Registered nurses wore this badge which is a five-pointed star enclosing a Red Cross. It was designed by Grace Neill (1846-1926) who played a major role in drafting New Zealand’s Nurses Registration Act 1901. She implemented the Act, defined the curriculum and appointed examiners.
The five-pointed star has roots in historical symbolism, particularly related to healing traditions dating back to the ancient Egyptians. Neill chose the five-pointed star because it already carried historical weight related to healing and held symbolic meanings that aligned with the values of the nursing profession.
Historically, the five points had assigned meanings, such as volition, fidelity, and intellect. Since the advent of nursing as a profession, specific nursing actions have also been assigned to the star points such as the hand that is every ready to help.
The white background of the badge stands for the purity expected in the life of a nurse. The blue stands for honour and loyalty; and gold for charity. The badge was designed as a symbol of service in the alleviation of suffering.