Mabel Thurston

Mabel Thurston, (22 July 1869 – 23 July 1960) was a notable New Zealand nurse, hospital matron and army nursing administrator.

Early life Thurston was born in Manea, Cambridgeshire, England, on 22 July 1869 to Mary Ann ( Green) and her husband, Frederick Thurston, a pharmaceutical chemist. She emigrated to New Zealand in 1901 and trained as a nurse at Wellington District Hospital, which meant working 11-hour long days, seven days a week. After passing her examinations, she became a registered nurse in December 1904 and was appointed matron of Grey River Hospital in 1906.

In 1908 Thurston was appointed matron (also known as lady superintendent) of Christchurch Hospital, where she proved to be a popular and capable manager. The board unanimously agreed to grant Thurston leave of absence with Frederick C. Horrell, chairman of the board, and Mr H. B. Sorensen, chairman of the Hospital Committee, expressing their appreciation for her service, especially in the training of nurses, and voiced the opinion that her appointment would be an honour to the hospital and the board. On 17 August 1916, At this point Fanny Wilson took over Thurston’s duties as matron at Walton-on Thames. Thurston responded by saying that she had understood leave had been granted for the duration of the war and that she intended to return to New Zealand as soon as it ended. At a meeting of concerned citizens in Christchurch called to chastise the board for its treatment of returning war workers, comments were made about the way it was treating Thurston. Despite letters of support from Colonel William Parkes (who had been director of the New Zealand Medical Corps in the latter half of the war) and Brigadier General George Richardson and others the board remained unmoved and terminated Thurston's appointment. This drew the attention of the Audit Office who requested that each member of the Hospital Board contribute to reimbursing the board as they had voted money to Thurston after she had ceased to be in the board's employ.

Thurston returned to New Zealand in January 1920 and by March had taken up the position of matron at the King George V Military Hospital at Rotorua. From February 1923 to 1924 she was matron of Queen Mary Hospital, Hanmer Springs. However, a member of the public approached a board member and told him that she was not in the best of health and did not meet the board’s requirement that applicants be no more than 45 years of age, though a candidate of up to 50 years would he considered if they had special qualifications. Thurston had stated she was 49 years old on her application. The board subsequently asked for her to provide a satisfactory certificate of health and a certificate of age. Thurston declined to provide the requested certificates and withdrew her application. She was 55 years old at the time.

While Dunedin had concerns about her age it did not stop Thurston serving as matron at Pukeora Sanatorium in Waipukurau from 1924 to early 1927, after which she retired to England in that same year.

Personal life Thurston never married.

Honours In 1917, Thurston was awarded the Royal Red Cross, first class.

Thurston is honoured by a stained-glass window titled "The Conversion of St Paul" in the Nurses' Memorial Chapel in Christchurch. In her will she left £75 to the chapel, which may have partially paid for the window. The window was commissioned by former nurses who had trained under her and by many former patients and friends. Bishop Warren dedicated the window at the Florence Nightingale service on 10 May 1964. The window shows a saint as a soldier on the road to Damascus dedicating his sword to God.