Plaque commemorating life of WWII nurse unearthed during demolition works
Kia ora koutou. A plaque in honour of WWII nurse Eliza Daisy Cargo has been rediscovered during some earthworks at North Shore Hospital.
Eliza was the first matron at the North Shore Obstetric Hospital. The block she worked in was demolished last year to make way for a new hospital building due to open in 2023.
A plaque commemorating her life was put in the adjoining grounds around 60 years ago, but had been hidden by vegetation over the decades, the Waitematā DHB said in a statement.
North Shore Hospital has now relocated the plaque, and held a small unveiling ceremony on Friday, attended by two of Eliza's former colleagues and a family member.
Born in 1909, Eliza is believed to have spent the first few years of her life in Manurewa. She finished finished her nursing training at Auckland Hospital around 1937 and served with the New Zealand Army Service in Italy, Egypt and New Caledonia during WWII, and later with J Force in Japan.
After completing her military service, Eliza led the Devonport Obstetric Hospital for about seven years, and also worked at a hospital in Pukekohe.
Between 1958 and 1964, Eliza oversaw the training of many student nurses as matron at North Shore Obstetric Hospital.
One of those nurses was Brenda Vujcich, who said of Eliza: "She influenced us greatly in our early training and was a very efficient and gracious sister who we all admired".
Eliza married Harold James Thompson later in her life and lived in Howick until her death in 1976.
Waitematā DHB director of midwifery Emma Farmer said it seemed fitting to unveil the plaque in time for Anzac Day.
“Eliza played a prominent role in the history of North Shore Hospital. We are also very conscious of her years in the New Zealand Army Nursing Service where she and her colleagues frequently risked their lives to help others during WWII."
Photo credit: Alexander Turnbull Library
What word sums up 2024, neighbours?
If 2020 was the year of lockdowns, banana bread, and WFH (work from home)....
In one word, how would you define 2024?
We're excited to see what you come up with!
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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63% Summer
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35.6% Winter
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1.4% Other - I'll share below
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
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