Join us in supporting the internationalWomen in Red movement, which strives to close the gender gap on Wikipedia by highlighting the biographies, achievements, and histories of women, spotlighting those who shaped Aotearoa New Zealand’s wartime history.
TUES 7 APR, 6PM- 7PM
RESEARCH LIBRARY READING ROOM, LEVEL 2
REGISTER HERE
From South Africa to modern deployments, New Zealand military nurses have played a sustained and significant role in our nation’s history.
Join us in supporting the global Wikipedia Women in Red movement, which strives to close the gender gap on Wikipedia by highlighting the biographies, achievements, and histories of women.
Sophie Elborough, Collection Information Technician will discuss the Military nursing history of Aotearoa, and highlight some key women from Auckland Museum’s Online Cenotaph database. Anjuli Selvadurai, Wikimedian in Residence will present how you can get involved in researching the Museum’s collection and contribute to the Women in Red movement.
Together, we can help ensure the histories of Aotearoa New Zealand women in wartime are recognised and shared more widely.
The legacy of military nursing in Aotearoa New Zealand reflects persistence, professional skill, and a strong sense of duty. Many of the women who served advocated for recognition and the opportunity to contribute in uniform.
Its foundations were laid by approximately 30 New Zealand nurses who travelled to South Africa during the South African War (1899–1902), includingElizabeth Rennie Hay, whose service at Langman Field Hospital is reflected in objects now held in the collection of Auckland War Memorial Museum.
During World War I, nurses served at sea and on the home front. Charlotte Le Gallais sailed on the first voyage of the hospital ship HMNZHS Maheno, caring for wounded from Gallipoli before returning to nurse through the 1918 influenza pandemic.
In World War II and beyond, military nurses expanded into senior leadership and overseas deployments. Wikitoria Te Huruhuru Whatu (Ngāti Toarangatira, Ngāti Tū) embarked in 1941 with the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Medical Division, becoming the first Māori Red Cross WAAC to serve overseas. Based primarily in the Middle East, she nursed New Zealand personnel under demanding conditions and was mentioned in dispatches in 1943. While later leaders such as Lieutenant Colonel Daphne Margaret Shaw carried that legacy into Vietnam and senior Defence Force roles.
Women in Red
Only 20% of all biographies on Wikipedia are about women. Women in Red is a global project to dismantle the gender bias in Wikipedia. The project makes articles about women's biographies, women's works, and women's issues.
The project is named after the red hyperlinks in Wikipedia articles. Red links show that the linked article has not been written yet.
About the speakers
Sophie Elborough is a Collection Information Technician whose role focuses on increasing accessibility to the Museum's collection. This includes managing and enhancing records within Auckland War Memorial Museum’s Online Cenotaph database. Sophie also writes for the Auckland Museum website, highlighting underrepresented communities, with a particular focus on women and Māori service personnel, to reflect the diversity of Aotearoa's war history.
Anjuli Selvadurai is the Wikimedian in Residence at Auckland Museum, her role focuses on dispersing the Museum’s collections, research and knowledge onto Wikimedia platforms. In her role she works to increase the visibility of underrepresented histories, and encourages others to contribute and shape the platform, creating a more inclusive and representative online knowledge ecosystem that reflects Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Anjuli holds a Masters in Heritage Conservation specialising in Museums and Cultural Heritage from University of Auckland.
Header image credits:
Group of nursing sisters gathered outside a hospital during World War Two. Collection of Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira PH-ALB-398-p14-3