Christina McDonald
Born 1911 - Died 10 Jul 1996
- Service number
- Jayforce 810495 AWMM
- Also known as
- Mac AWMM
- Last rank
- Post WW2 Principal Matron AWMM Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps AWMM
- War
- Jayforce, 1945-1948 AWMM
- Jayforce, 1945-1948 AWMM
About
- Title
- —
- Forenames
- Christina AWMM
- Surname
- McDonald AWMM
- Ingoa
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- Also known as
- Mac AWMM
- Service number
- Jayforce 810495 AWMM
- Gender
- Female AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
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- Religion
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Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 1911 AWMM
- Date of birth
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- Place of birth
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- Birth notes
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- Address before enlistment
- Pre 26 Apr 1905 AWMM Fassifern, Tapanui, New Zealand AWMM
- Post war occupation
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- Next of kin
- Jayforce Mr J.A. McDonald (father), "Fassifern", Tapanui, New Zealand AWMM
- Relationship status
- Unknown AWMM Single AWMM
Wars and conflicts
- War
- Jayforce, 1945-1948 AWMM
- Jayforce, 1945-1948 AWMM
- Campaign
- 1945-1948 AWMM Jay-Force occupation of Japan post WW2 AWMM
- Service number
- Jayforce 810495 AWMM
- Military service
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
- 1934 AWMM
Place of Nursing training and date of qualification / registration AWMM - Branch Trade Proficiency
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- Enlistment
- Jayforce 1943 AWMM Nurse AWMM
- Age on enlistment
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- Occupation before enlistment
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Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- Jayforce Sister AWMM New Zealand Army Nursing Service AWMM British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) Japan AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
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- Days interned
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- Liberation date
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- POW liberation details
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- Liberation Repatriation
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- POW serial number
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Medical history
- Medical notes
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Last known rank
- Last rank
- Post WW2 1958 AWMM
Retired AWMM
Principal Matron AWMM
Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps AWMM - Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- Appointed, commissioned in the Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps April 1943.
Matron, 6th New Zealand General Hospital, Japan
Member of New Zealand’s official 135-strong Coronation Contingent for the 1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, which sailed to the United Kingdom aboard HMNZS Black Prince, in company with HMAS Sydney as an “Anzac Squadron.” The contingent marched in the coronation procession, mounted guard at Buckingham Palace, and RNZN personnel took part in the Coronation Naval Review at Spithead.
Principal-Matron, Director of Nursing Services (Army, Navy, Air), 1958.
Honorary Nursing Sister to the Queen.
Christina McDonald served with distinction across all three New Zealand armed services. Born in Invercargill on 21 August 1911, she trained at Dunedin Hospital and qualified as a registered nurse in 1934. In 1943 she joined the Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps and was seconded to the Royal New Zealand Navy. She was appointed one of the first nursing sisters at the newly established Royal New Zealand Navy Hospital at Devonport and later became Sister in Charge.
In 1946 McDonald reverted to the Army and was posted to Japan with the Jayforce. She served as Matron of the 6th New Zealand General Hospital at Kiwa until 1949, overseeing medical services for New Zealand personnel during the occupation period. McDonald was appointed Associate of the Royal Red Cross in 1946 and later promoted to Member of the Royal Red Cross.
Returning to New Zealand, she resumed duties at Devonport before being appointed Director of Nursing Services for the Army, Navy and Air Force in 1958. She retired in 1964 after more than two decades of military nursing leadership and died on 10 July 1996 (Profile written for “A Flight to Remember”, an Anzac Day 2026 initiative by Online Cenotaph and Air New Zealand). AWMM
About death
- Death
- 10 Jul 1996 AWMM
- Date of death
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- Age at death
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- Place of death
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- Cause of death
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- Death notes
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- Cemetery
- Cremated AWMM
- Cemetery name
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- Grave reference
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- Obituary
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- Memorial name
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- Memorial reference
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Memorial
- Memorial name
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Sources
- External links
- Births, Deaths and Marriages (New Zealand) Historical Records online
https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz
Sources Used - National Museum of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Biography
https://navymuseum.co.nz/explore/by-collections/oral-histories/mcdonald-principal-matron-c/
Further Reference - NZ Navy Museum.
http://www.navymuseum.co.nz/
Further Reference - New Zealand Military Nursing: New Zealand Army Nursing Service - Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps
http://web.archive.org/web/20220126041404/https://www.nzans.org/index.htm
Further Reference - 'Matron C. McDonald Nursing Uniform' Navy Museum
https://navymuseum.co.nz/explore/by-collections/clothing/nurses-uniform/
Further Reference - Wikipedia Entry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_McDonald_(nurse)
Further Reference - J Force Wikipedia Page
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J_Force
Further Reference - Romano, G. (2021, March 4). Jayforce: 75 years on. Auckland War Memorial Museum – Tāmaki Paenga Hira.
https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/features/jayforce
Further Reference - A recording made by this nurse in Japan in 1946 can be found on Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision's online catalogue - J Force - Greetings from the 6th New Zealand General Hospital at Kiwa
https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/search-use-collection/search/
Further Reference - Johnston, S. (2025, August 11). Voices of J Force: Recordings of New Zealanders in post-war Japan. Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.
https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/explore-stories/stories/new-zealand-history/voices-of-j-force-recordings-of-new-zealanders-in-post-war-japan/
Further Reference
- Births, Deaths and Marriages (New Zealand) Historical Records online
- References
- Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1950). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 16 (Embarkations from 1st January, 1946 to 30th June, 1948). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
WW2 16: WW2 79 - Brocklebank, L.W. (1997). Jayforce : New Zealand and the military occupation of Japan, 1945-48. Auckland, N.Z.: Oxford University Press.
Funeral service sheet has portraits - Service Women Project: Sponsorship to research this record was kindly provided by the Auckland Returned Services Association, Returned Servicewomen's Branch; Marjorie Traill, Dorothy Grant, Daphne Shaw and Margaret Woollett.
- McNabb, S. (2015). 100 years New Zealand military nursing : New Zealand Army nursing service : Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps, 1915-2015. Hawke's Bay, N.Z.: Sherayl McNabb.
- Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1950). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 16 (Embarkations from 1st January, 1946 to 30th June, 1948). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
p.79 - Coronation Medals 1953 - Nominal Roll. Archives New Zealand, Wellington (R21681744)
- Parr, A. (2012). The occupiers : New Zealand veterans remember post-war Japan. Auckland, N.Z. : Penguin.
- This record was part of “A Flight to Remember”, an Anzac Day 2026 commemorative partnership between Online Cenotaph and Air New Zealand, where service stories were shared onboard a dawn flight from Auckland to Sydney.
- Rogers, A. (2003). While You're Away: New Zealand Nurses at War 1899-1948. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland University Press.
- Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1950). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 16 (Embarkations from 1st January, 1946 to 30th June, 1948). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
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