From nurse education, clinical, or workforce issues through to healthy living, Nursing Review has it covered.

The ten army nurses lost tragically when their ship was torpedoed a century ago this Friday will be honoured in a series of events this Labour Weekend. 

The loss of the nurses - and tales of the bravery of the 26 nurses who survived many hours in the water before being rescued — captured the nation's hearts a century ago. (click here for full story of MARQUETTE DISASTER)

The first commemorative event is a memorial service on Friday in the same Christchurch church where 100 years before the first memorial service was held and the initial collection made for what eventually became the Nurses Memorial Chapel in Christchurch. (click here for story of CHAPEL)

Ray Wootton, a former nurse and president of the Friends of the Chapel, said descendants of nearly all the lost nurses, plus family of other New Zealanders on the Marquette, will attend the private service at St Michael and All Angels Church. 

She said the tragic sinking a century before caused much shock and resentment because the nurses should not have been aboard the transport ship. “Many questions about the sinking of the Marquette remain unanswered. This was the last time medical or nursing personnel boarded a transport ship in any subsequent war."

Nanette Ainge, a Friends of the Chapel committee member said the 100th anniversary of the Marquette sinking represented an important part of New Zealand’s nursing heritage. “Nurses always show steadfastness in times of emergency, and we witnessed their bravery once again in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes,” she said.

The Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae will be attending the service along with Lieutenant Colonel Lee Turner, director of nursing services for the New Zealand Defence Force, which is also celebrating its centenary this year.

Representatives from another memorial project prompted by the Marquette tragedy, the New Zealand Nurses' Memorial Fund, will also attend. The still active trust fund was set up in 1919 in Dunedin by the Otago Nurses' Association to honour the nurses lost on the Marquette, including two from Otago, by helping nurses in need around the country with small cash grants. 

Wootton says other guests at the service include Canterbury nursing leaders and representatives from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Christchurch School of Nursing Association, the Navy and local defence forces based at Burnham.

The actual Nurses Memorial Chapel, opened on the grounds of Christchurch Hospital in 1927, has been closed since the 2011 earthquakes but plans are underway for its restoration and it is hoped to re-open in 2017.

Commemoration Events:

COMMEMORATIVE DISPLAY

Saturday October 24 10.30-3pm

A special one-day exhibit of information and memorabilia about the Marquette nurses will be held at the St Michael's School hall, situated beside the St Michaels and All Angels church, Durham Street.  Photos, family albums, quilts, a First World War nurse's uniform and the stories of the Marquette nurses will be on display.  Descendants of people who were the Marquette will also be present to share their family stories.

HISTORIC TALK

Sunday October 25 10.30am

Jude Turner will host a talk about the history of the nurses lost on the Marquette in the garden of the Nurses Memorial Chapel in the grounds of Christchurch Hospital. Ten crosses will be erected to remember the nurses lost.

THEATRE PERFORMANCE

October 22 and 23 7.30pm Charles Luney Auditorium, St Margaret’s College, Merivale

The Roses of No Mans Land by Elayne Buckler dramatises the stories of some of the nurses who perished and some who survived the Marquette sinking. A proportion of money raised will be donated to the restoration of the Nurses’ Memorial Chapel. Tickets available via Ticketek

NURSES MEMORIAL SELF-DRIVE BROCHURE

Can collect a free map on Saturday October 24 from the commemorative display at St Michaels' School hall (see above).

The self-drive guide directs people to memorials commemorating the nurses lost on the Marquette and includes visits to the Nurses' Memorial Chapel Garden, Linwood Cemetery, Lyttelton Cenotaph, Akaroa War Memorial and Wainui Cemetery.