Centenary commemoration to honour ‘Marquette’ nurses   14 Oct 2015

Centenary commemoration to honour ‘Marquette’ nurses

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the HMT Marquette after it was torpedoed by a German U-boat attack in the Aegean Sea on 23 October 1915, during World War I.

Ten New Zealand nurses drowned when the transport ship was struck marking the tragedy as the single largest loss of nurses’ lives in New Zealand military history.

An official commemoration service for family members, invited guests, military and medical personnel will be held on Friday 23, October 2015 at St Michael and All Angels Church to honour the memory of the nurses, who were mainly from the South Island.

Several public events will be held over the Labour weekend to commemorate the centenary of the sinking of the Marquette (see Key Events on Pages 3-4).

The HMT Marquette was en route from Alexandria, Egypt to Salonika, Greece when she was struck by a torpedo at approximately 9am.

Among the 741 people on board were 36 nurses of the New Zealand Army Nursing Service, members of the New Zealand Medical Corps, and more than 500 officers and troops of the British 29th Divisional Ammunition Column with their equipment, as well as horses and mules.

After the torpedo struck, the Marquette went down in less than 15 minutes, with 167 lives lost.

Ten of the 36 nurses perished including Marion Brown from Riverton, Isabel Clark from Oamaru, Catherine Fox and Mary Rae from Dunedin, Mary Gorman from Waimate, Helena Isdell from Kumara, Mabel Jamieson from Palmerston North and three Christchurch nurses Nona Hildyard, Margaret Rogers and Lorna Rattray.

Friends of the Chapel (FOC) president Ray Wootton said the tragic event caused much shock and resentment because the nurses should not have been aboard the transport ship.

“Many questions about the sinking of the Marquette remain unanswered. This was the last time medical or nursing personnel boarded a transport ship in any subsequent war,” she said.

In 1927, the Nurses’ Memorial Chapel at Christchurch Hospital was constructed as a memorial to honour the three Christchurch nurses who drowned in the disaster.

Christchurch resident Cheryl Jenkins, who is the secretary of the Nurses’ Memorial Trust and FOC committee member, is a relative of Christchurch nurse Margaret Rogers.

The Nurses Memorial Chapel is the only stand alone memorial built specifically to commemorate New Zealand women killed in World War I. It is also believed to be the only purpose-built chapel commemorating nurses killed at war worldwide. The chapel also remembers two Christchurch nurses who died during the influenza epidemic of 1918, Hilda Hooker and Grace Beswick.

In later years the names of other distinguished nurses and medical staff have been added to its plaques.

FOC committee member Nanette Ainge said the 100th anniversary of the Marquette sinking represented an important part of New Zealand’s nursing heritage.

“Nurses always show steadfastness in times of emergency, and we witnessed their bravery once again in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes,” she said.

“It’s important to remember not only those who died, but also those who survived and went through a terrible ordeal.”

According to Ainge, the letters and diaries of the survivors’ of the Marquette provided a truthful, poignant account of the sinking of the vessel.

The Nurses Memorial Chapel was designed free-of-charge by well-known Christchurch architect John Goddard Collins and has been used for events such as weddings, Christenings, hospital chapel services and annual ANZAC services.

One of the 12 stained glass windows commemorates the contribution and sacrifice of nurses who served in both world wars.

The Nurses’ Memorial Chapel has been closed since 2011 following damage in the earthquakes.

Planning is underway for the restoration of the Nurses’ Memorial Chapel with an expected completion date in early 2017. The chapel is now the oldest building on the Christchurch Hospital site and important in terms of the city’s heritage.

“The chapel was a big part of our nursing life and the door was always open to those who wanted to find peace and sanctuary inside. As a young nurse I remember wheeling patients into the chapel for Sunday church services,” Wootton said.

Ainge also recalls fond memories of the chapel while working as a young nurse. She says it’s important for the strong sense of nursing pride the chapel embodies to be passed on to younger generations for years to come.

In 2009 a Greek diving team located the wreck of the Marquette 87 metres down in the gulf to the north of the Aegean Sea.

For more information, visit the Christchurch Hospital Nurses Memorial Chapel website: http://cnmc.org.nz/

--- ENDS --- (See Key Events on Pages 3-4).

KEY PUBLIC EVENTS

What: Roses of No Mans Land by Elayne Buckler

When: Thursday and Friday (22-23) October 2015

Time: 7.30pm-9.15pm

Where: Charles Luney Auditorium at St Margaret’s College, 12 Winchester Street, Merivale

Cost: Adults $25, Students/Senior Citizens $10, Family Pass (two adults, two children) $60

To Book: http://premier.ticketek.co.nz/shows/show.aspx?sh=ROSESOFN15

Description: Roses of no mans land written by Elayne Buckler will be performed by St Margaret’s College students to align with the centenary of the Marquette sinking. It is a dramatized version of events which tells the stories of some of the brave young women who survived and perished in the disaster. Some funds will be donated to the restoration of the Nurses’ Memorial Chapel.

What: Commemoration Service

When: Friday 23, October 2015

Time: 5.30pm

Where: St Michael and All Angels Church, Durham Street, Christchurch

Cost: Free

Description: The service, hosted by the Friends of the Chapel and Chapel Trust, marks the centenary of the sinking of the Marquette during World War 1. Of the 10 young nurses who perished in the disaster, three originated from Christchurch. Their deaths and those who died in the influenza epidemic prompted the construction of the Nurses Memorial Chapel. The chapel is currently closed as a result of damage sustained in the Canterbury earthquakes. The Governor-General will attend the service.

Please note, this event is invites only and no longer open to the general public.

What: Marquette Commemoration Display

When: Saturday 24, October 2015

Time: 10.30am-3pm

Where: St Michael’s School Hall, Durham Street South, Christchurch

Cost: Free

Description: The exhibit will display historical Marquette-related materials with family albums and memorabilia supplied by relatives and living descendants of the Marquette nurses. The rose chosen to mark the centenary “Class Act” will also be available for purchase along with cards and other items to support the fundraising initiatives of the Friends of the Nurses Memorial Chapel. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet relatives of the Marquette Nurses.

What: Nurses Memorial Self-Drive brochure

When: Collect map on Saturday 24, October 2015

Time: Anytime between 10.30am-3pm

Where: St Michael’s School Hall, Durham Street, Christchurch

Cost: Free

Description: This self-drive guide locates memorials commemorating the nurses who drowned and includes visits to the Nurses' Memorial Chapel Garden, Linwood Cemetery, Lyttelton Cenotaph, Akaroa War Memorial and Wainui Cemetery.

What: Historic talk hosted by Jude Turner

When: Sunday 25, October 2015

Time: 10.30am-11.30am

Where: Nurses Memorial Chapel Garden, Christchurch Hospital

Cost: Free

Description: Jude Turner will host a talk in the Nurses’ Memorial Chapel Garden at Christchurch Hospital. All attendees will receive an updated garden map and guide to all plantings in the memorial garden. Ten white crosses will be erected to remember the Marquette nurses who died when the troopship Marquette was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the Aegean Sea on 23 October 1915, during World War I.

ENDS

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