Kerry News
March 2006
Kerry News - March 2006
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Montgomeryshire Express and Radnor Times, March 3, 1956
Nurse goes down under
Six weeks at sea lie ahead of Sister Eileen Pryce of the Pentre, Kerry, until recently a member of the Royal Salop Infirmary staff at Shrewsbury.
Miss Pryce – the eldest daughter of Mr & Mrs Sidney Pryce – sailed from Glasgow yesterday (Friday) in the steamship Captain Hobson and expects to reach Wellington, New Zealand, on April 15.
Two nursing colleagues have joined in this emigration “down under” and all have been guaranteed hospital posts in New Zealand (Sister Pryce hopes that these will be offered in Wellington).
A state registered nurse and state certified midwife, she will express a preference for mid-wifery in which she has specialised for more than two years.
As a sister at the Royal Salop Infirmary, Miss Pryce was awarded the Matron’s Prize for efficiency and sense of vocation. Subsequently she was appointed district nurse-midwife at Bridgnorth, but returned to the Midwifery department of the Infirmary last year.
Her initial contract with the New Zealand health authorities is for two years.
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Eileen Lewis recalls today:
Two friends and I decided to go to New Zealand under the immigration scheme. Early in March 1956 (50 years ago – where has the time gone!) we travelled by train from Shrewsbury to Glasgow. We shared a carriage with some sailors, and they asked where we were going. When we told them, New Zealand on the Captain Hobson, they said, “You will have a black crew, and it’s an old ship, and you will probably break down en route”. We laughed and thought they were joking. We boarded the ship early on the Friday morning – yes, we did have a black crew, and yes, we did break down en route!
There were about 500 passengers on board from various parts of the UK. We were all young – many families with young children and many single people. Once we found our sea legs (we had a few rough seas) we had a good voyage. There was plenty of activity on board to keep us occupied. Meal times were in two sittings – families with children first, and the singles second. There were eight to a table – four men and four women. That was where I met my husband to be!
We had a brief stop in Curaçao where we went ashore for a few hours. We also stopped at Pitcairn Island. We weren’t allowed ashore, but the Pitcairn Islanders came on board, selling the things they had made – jewellery, baskets, fruit and various other things.
We arrived in Wellington in the middle of April, and were met by the New Zealand officials, who told us where we were going. My one friend stayed in Wellington, where her fiancée lived. My other friend and I went to Hokitika – a small town on the west coast of the South Island. It was a small General Hospital. We stayed there for six months. We were able to hire a car and do a lot of sight seeing – Milford Sound, the Glaciers, Timaru and Christchurch. In Timaru I stayed with a friend from Kerry – Megan Corfield, Rhiewdantin. She had married a New Zealander.
My husband to be was sent to Invercargill to work in the forestry. He moved to the Post Office in Wellington.
My friend and I also moved to Wellington. We spent the rest of our time there, working as Night Sisters at the Wellington Hospital – a large General and Midwifery Hospital. Again, we were able to do plenty of sight seeing, mostly by coach. They had a very good coach service. We visited Rotorua, a large Maori Settlement, the Geysers and mud pools, and many of the large cities in the North Island.
We were going to sail home from Auckland, but the sailing was changed to Wellington. We were very disappointed that we didn’t see that part of the North Island, but I have been there since. We sailed home on the Rangatane – a much bigger ship, and no breakdowns! Although our passage out was free, we had to pay our passage back home - £500 each, and it took four weeks. We arrived home in Southampton in the middle of June.
It was a lovely experience, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
Eileen Lewis
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