Nurse Maude

Sibylla Emily Maude (11 August 1862 – 12 July 1935), known as Nurse Maude, was the founder of district nursing in New Zealand. She was loved for her selfless work for the poor, walking many miles each day in every kind of weather to treat those who could afford no medical help.

Early life Maude was born in Christchurch New Zealand, on 11 August 1862. She was the eldest of eight children born to Thomas Maude and Emily Brown. At the time of her birth, Thomas was a member of the provincial government, the Canterbury Provincial Council. In 1876, the family went to England and Maude attended Linden School in Blackheath, London for three years until their return to Christchurch in 1879.

Career In 1899, as most professional nurses in New Zealand at the time, Maude went to England to train as a nurse. She became a fee-paying "lady probationer" at Middlesex Hospital, England, where she spent four years. At her request, the award was presented in a private ceremony. She was buried in the churchyard there, in her nurse's uniform.

There are two stained glass windows which commemorate Maude's life and work – one in the former chapel of Christchurch Hospital (now the Christchurch Nurses' Memorial Chapel), and one in the chapel of the Community of the Sacred Name (formerly the Deaconess Institution).

A marble bust of Maude stands in the foyer of the Nurse Maude Hospital.