By Roselyn Fauth
Survey Photography - 1956 Timaru Hospital. PA Group 00080 Whites Aviation Ltd Photographs. nlnzimage
In this house lived a pretty special woman... This was the home of Catherine Agnes McGuire. She was known to many as Kit. She grew up here, went to South School, trained as a nurse in Dunedin, and returned to Timaru to live in the family home and care for the community and especially children who were sick, neglected or disabled. This has been quite the history hunt. Exploring the early years of nursing in Timaru, the social challenges Kit witnessed, and the aftermath of war and pandemics has opened a window into the untold story of one of many special women who served and advocated through it all...
She was known to many as Kit. Born Catherine Agnes McGuire in Timaru 1896. Her mother was Rosa Ellen McGuidre (formerly Coker). Catherine came from a blended family, her mother Rosa had two sons Henry (born 1888) and Fred (Frederick William, born 1891). Her mother married Patrick John McGuire in 1897 a year after she was born, which is why her birth certificate records her surname as Cocker. She had three younger sisters: Ethel May (born 1897), Rose Ellen (born 1900 died in infancy), and Annie Ellen McGuire (born 1905).
The family grew up together in this house. Kit went to South School (which offically opened in 1881 as a side school of Timaru Main). In 1927 she graduated from Sunnyside Hospital as a Psychiatric Nurse and returned to Timaru after the death of her parents (her mother died in 1958) she moved back into the family home. She worked part-time as a public nurse, and for a time was a private nurse to Doctors S Fraser and W H Unwin.
Kit was one of the foundation members of the South Canterbury Concert Chamber Association and a member of the New Zealand Registered Nurses Association. For 22 years she supervised State Nursing Examinations at the Timaru Public Hospital, and was Matron of the South Canterbury Health Camp for 28 years. On her own she raised $200 for the hospital chapel by using her spare time to sew garments from old clothes, and childrens play outfits and kitchen cloths from old sugar bags. Her home was an open house to generations of nurses.
In 1960 Kit was awarded the MBE for her work within the community. An article was published in the Timaru HErald to announce the recognition Kit had recieved with an M.B.E Award:
HONOURED BY THE QUEEN: Miss C. A. McGuire, Of Timaru. Miss Catherine Agnes McGuire, of 51 Edward Street, Timaru, who has been awarded an M.B.E., has been on the committee of the King George V Memorial Health Camp for more than 26 years. She has been Matron of the summer camp, held at Geraldine, for the last three years. During the Second World War she did Navy League work. She is a member of the Registered Nurses’ Association and was at one time connected with St. Saviour’s Orphanage, and the Crippled Children Society. Miss McGuire is also on the South End Elderly Citizens’ Committee.
Kit passed away on July 6 1973 aged 77. Her sisters had married and were now known as Anne Clarkson, and Ethel Turnbull. For a long time, there was only one name on her grave which was Patrick John McGuire. Her mother Rosa Lena was laid to rest there too. Her sisters were buried separately with their husbands.
As well as the legacy in life in caring for the community and advocating for public health, she left a small bequest to the South Canterbury Branch of New Zealand Registered Nurses' Association.
When the Nursing Association South Canterbury Branch was dissolved in 1988, a nursing scholarship was established in honour of Kit McGuire. In 2024 the trustees of the Kit McGuire Trustmade the decision to resettle the funds with the Aoraki Foundation and establish the Kit McGuire Nursing Fund. This scholarship will carry on the purpose of the Trust, specifically the education and professional development of nurses in their three year of training who resides in the Aoraki region.
Catherine Agnes McGuires un marked Grave at Timaru Cemetery 2025. Photograph Roselyn Fauth
On a side note... if you have been following our blogs... you'll know we have a particular interest in the Turnbull family history... so when we saw that Kit's sister had married a Turnbull, we were curious who that was. Her husband James Turnbull was a ploughman at Pleasant Point and enlisted with the NZEF for the First World War. He served in Egypt, France and England, was wounded in 1916, and later worked in the military police, rising to corporal. After four years abroad, he returned to a hero’s welcome in Temuka in 1919. He married Ethel May McGuire in 1935 and farmed in Christchurch before retiring to Timaru in 1949. The couple had no children. James died in 1970 and was buried with Ethel in Timaru Cemetery. He is also honoured on the Cave, Cannington and Motukaika War Memorial. So not a relation of Richard, David or James Turnbull the prominant architect of Timaru.
Survey Photography - 1956 Timaru Hospital. PA Group 00080 Whites Aviation Ltd Photographs. nlnzimage
This photo from 1956, taken from above Timaru Hospital, also shows number 51 Edward Street, the home of Catherine Agnes McGuire, known to most simply as Kit. This was the house where she lived in 1960, when she received news from the Queen that she had been awarded an MBE for services to the community, particularly in connection with the South Canterbury Children’s Health Camp movement. Kit lived here until her death in 1973. It was just a stone’s throw from the hospital where she had worked for many years. The house used to be listed as 62 Edward Street, and around 1923-1926 the address changed to 51 Edward Street when the road was renumbered.
Timeline
- 1896 – Catherine Agnes McGuire born in Timaru
- 1910s – 20s – Attended Timaru South School; later trained at Sunnyside Hospital
- 1927 – Graduated as psychiatric nurse
- 1930s – 40s – Worked as public and private nurse; affiliated with Dr S. Fraser and Dr W. H. Unwin
- 1943 – Praised in Timaru Herald for running Health Camp in Geraldine
- 1945 – 1973 – Matron of South Canterbury Health Camp (28 years)
- 1948 – 1970 – Supervisor of state nursing exams at Timaru Public Hospital (22 years)
- 1 January 1960 – Appointed MBE in the New Year Honours for services to community and the Children’s Health Camp
- 1965 – Signed her will with charitable bequests and trustees appointed
- 1971 – Codicil added; Edward Carl Sullivan replaces a trustee
- 6 July 1973 – Passed away, aged 76; funeral at St Peter’s Anglican Church
- 1988 – Kit McGuire Nursing Fund established upon dissolution of Nurses Association
- 2024 – Fund resettled with Aoraki Foundation; supports third-year nursing students in Aoraki region
Imperial album caption: "The town of Timaru is about 100 miles from Christchurch, and 128 from Dunedin, and is the principal town of South Canterbury. Among its fine buildings and institutions there is not one of which the citizens are more proud than its Hospital, the subject of our illustration, and for convenience and good management it can hold its own with any in the colony. It speaks well for a young colony, when the alleviation of the physical sufferings of its inhabitants is one of the first things to be provided.” Possibly about 1896 to 1899. The imperial album of New Zealand scenery, page 238 canterburystories.nz/imperialalbum/ccl-cs-39434
Kit’s career unfolded alongside the development of professional nursing in Aotearoa New Zealand. Although nursing is often seen as a long-standing tradition, it only became a regulated profession when Florence Nightingale established the first formal training school for nurses in 1860. In 1901, New Zealand became the first country in the world to pass a Nurses Registration Act, and in 1902 Ellen Dougherty became the world’s first state-registered nurse. These changes made it possible for women like Kit to gain qualifications and work professionally at a time when it was the societial norm for women to remain at home.
A local woman, Laura Woollcombe, is recorded as the first New Zealander to receive her nursing certification under Florence Nightingale’s standards. She was also the third recorded European child born in Timaru and the daughter of the town’s first government magistrat Belfeild Woollcombe.
Today, nursing students in New Zealand complete either a diploma (for enrolled nurses) or a university degree (for registered nurses), with training overseen by the Nursing Council. The education may be more formal now, but the sense of vocation remains the same.
https://collection.canterburymuseum.com/objects/971975/photograph-timaru-hospital
I wonder what impacts of war had on Kit personally. As well as living through Kit lived through the influenza pandemic, polio, thyphiod, economic depressions she experienced the impacts of two world wars personally and in the community around her. She lost her brother Frederick William Cocker in WWI. He was living and working as a printer in Invercargill when enlisted when he died in action at Dardanelles, Gallipoli, Turkey 1915. Her other brother, Henry George Coker was a jockey when he was called up for military service in 1918. Henry died in 1938. Kit also lost cousins George Oliver Wilkes, who was killed in action in the Battle of Messines WWI , and Jasper William Wilkes. Another cousin, Reilly George Coker of Timaru, served in the South African War, and died unexpectedly on 1 December 1901 at Heilbron of enteric. - museum/scroll/1242
I look at this photo of her house and imagine her returning home to Edward Street after her nursing shift, reflecting on the care she had given that day.
The wider story of children’s health
Before the 1920s, there were no proper school health services in New Zealand. Hospitals were not well equipped to care for children with non-urgent needs, and although school inspectors might have noticed signs of poor health, there were few follow-up options. Poverty, overcrowding and poor diet left many children sadly very vulnerable.
After the First World War and the 1918 influenza pandemic, things became worse. Dr Elizabeth Gunn, one of New Zealand’s first school doctors, returned from military service and was deeply shocked by the condition of many children. In response, she started the first Children’s Health Camp in 1919. These camps were based on the idea that good food, fresh air and routine could help children recover and reset. For many families, they offered a lifeline.
Kit committed almost three decades of her life to this movement. In South Canterbury there was no permanent health camp, so Geraldine became the summer site. Geraldine High School was generously made available by the local education board each year. Children came from Timaru, Temuka, Waimate and smaller rural areas. Kit would have helped oversee the conversion of the school into dormitories, kitchens, play spaces and nurse stations, working with cooks, teachers, and volunteers.
These health camps were funded through a mix of government support, community donations and the sale of health stamps. First issued in 1929, health stamps were cheerful postage stamps sold at a slightly higher price to raise money for children’s health. They quickly became a popular way for the public to support initiatives like the King George V Memorial Health Camps. While the health stamps have now faded from use, they played an important part in building a community-based health system.
After the death of King George V in 1936, a memorial fund was created in New Zealand to support the wellbeing of children. Kit’s long service to the Geraldine camp reflected the success of this model: a regional effort, backed by national goodwill, sustained by the generosity and labour of people like her.
Kit at one time was also involved with care of orphans at Timaru’s St Saviour’s Orphanage
In the early 1900s, Timaru, like many towns across New Zealand, was feeling the grief, hardship and pressure. The First World War had taken fathers, left others wounded, and fractured homes in so many ways. Then came the influenza pandemic of 1918, spreading illness, economic depression and further conflict during the Second World War.
There was no benefit system or state housing at that time. Mental health services were minimal. Many families were doing their best to survive, and some simply could not cope. Parents dealing with illness, loss, trauma or poverty often faced the heartbreaking decision to send their children away, so many have been even taken out of the homes to find better care. Some of these children were truly orphaned. Others had parents who were still alive, but unable to provide care. Either way, the outcome was similar. Children across Timaru were placed in institutions where life was structured, strict, and far removed from home.
One of the most prominent institutions was St Saviour’s Orphanage on Morgan’s Road. Officially opened in 1919 by the Anglican Church, it cared for up to 100 boys. These children, ranging from toddlers to teenagers, lived under firm routines with early morning wake-ups, cold baths, porridge breakfasts and long walks to school.
Discipline was recalled by former children of the orphange as harsh. The cane was a common form of punishment, and at school the boys were often separated from others. Lunchtimes meant eating bread and dripping in a shed. Though there was laughter and friendship among the children, it must have been so tough, and felt like an isolating way to grow up.
The Timaru Heralld wrote a story on Arthur Woodhouse who arrived at St Saviour’s in 1945, aged just seven. His mother had suffered a breakdown and was placed in a psychiatric hospital. His father, a war veteran, could not raise Arthur on his own. Arthur remembered the trauma of separation but also the camaraderie, the mischief, and the small acts of resilience that helped him and others endure.
“We weren’t orphans,” he later recalled. “It was for children whose parents were having financial difficulties.” His story was not unique. Many children ended up in care not because they were unwanted, but because their families had run out of options.
Faced with this growing need, women across Timaru began to organise. They saw what was happening in their communities and responded not with charity drives or short-term help, but with lasting, practical care.
One of the many women was Kit McGuire. A trained psychiatric nurse, Kit returned to Timaru after her studies and committed herself to a life of service. She worked in public and private nursing, helped run South Canterbury’s children’s health camp for nearly 30 years, and gave her time to causes like the Crippled Children’s Society and elderly welfare. She also supported St Saviour’s Orphanage, likely providing health care, guidance and practical support.
Kit’s home was known as a haven for other nurses and those needing care. She is said to have made a difference through hands-on work, advocacy, and commitment. In 1960 she was awarded an MBE for her community service. But she didn't do it on her own, it took a huge effort from many in the community. While churches provided buildings and structure, it was women who kept those institutions going. One of the most powerful examples of this was the Women’s Auxiliary of Presbyterian Support Services in South Canterbury. Formed in 1918, in the wake of war and pandemic, this group of women built the region’s first Presbyterian children’s home.
They cooked meals, sewed clothes, raised funds and maintained the very buildings where children found shelter. Tania Stoddart who while working for Presbyterian Support South Canterbury wrote Their motto was simple and direct: “If there is a need, do it.”
In later years, they shifted their focus towards elder care, helping to establish the Margaret Wilson Home and The Croft. In 1973 they opened the Goodwill Shop in Timaru’s Royal Arcade. For forty years it raised close to one million pounds to support children, families and older people in need.
These women, probably like Kit did not seek attention or reward. They gave their time, energy and care because they believed it was the right thing to do. Their contribution cannot be measured in statistics, but in lives steadied and futures changed.
Women like Kit McGuire, the members of the Women’s Auxiliary, nurses, church volunteers and ordinary neighbours supported orphans and vulnerable children through St Saviour’s, Presbyterian children’s homes, health camps and later aged care facilities. They did this in Timaru’s streets and suburbs, in buildings like the Royal Arcade, Morgan’s Road, and Edward Street. They did this during the 1910s and 1920s, and they kept doing it through the 1960s, 70s, and beyond.
They did it because no one else was. Before the state was organised to step in.
Changes to employment and volunteer legislation in the 1970s, including the Volunteers Employment Protection Act 1973, gradually reshaped how women could formally contribute, placing limits on unpaid roles and influencing how longstanding groups like the Women’s Auxiliary operated. With the limitation on volunteers, long-standing groups like the Women’s Auxiliary had to adapt or disband.
The Women’s Auxiliary of Presbyterian Support Services in South Canterbury was formally wound up in 1990. This followed changes in the way social services were delivered, as care became more professionalised and legislation began to restrict the responsibilities volunteers could hold. The traditional model of volunteer-led governance and hands-on involvement was no longer practical. Although the Auxiliary as a formal group ended, its legacy continued through ongoing voluntary work, donations and the involvement of women in new leadership roles. Their fundraising efforts, especially through the Goodwill Shop which operated until 2013, supported children, families and older people in South Canterbury for nearly a century. Their values continue to influence the work of Presbyterian Support today.
Thanks to the vision and dedication of the Women’s Auxiliary, formed in 1918, a strong foundation was laid for what would become Presbyterian Support South Canterbury. Through volunteering and enterprise, the Auxiliary raised funds, provided practical support and quietly helped shape the mission and values of the organisation behind the scenes. What began as a response to the urgent needs of orphaned and vulnerable children gradually evolved into a model of integrated aged care that combined residential support, independent living and specialist dementia services within a single setting.
South Canterbury became a leader in this new approach to aged care, moving away from institutional, hospital-style environments towards more compassionate and community-based homes. The legacy of the Auxiliary’s work can still be seen today at The Croft and across the wider complex, reflected in the people who live, work and give their time there.
When Prime Minister Robert Muldoon officially opened The Croft in 1980, it confirmed the national importance of this pioneering project. As the first purpose-built facility of its kind in New Zealand, The Croft set a new standard for how elder care could be provided with dignity, thoughtful design and generosity of spirit.
Today, New Zealand has a stronger safety net. Welfare, social work and foster care have replaced the old orphanages. But the roots of those systems were planted by women who saw a gap and filled it. Women like Kit McGuire, and the thousands who sewed, cooked, cleaned and cared, gave us more than charity. They built a legacy of compassion, action and quiet leadership.
Some children, like Arthur Woodhouse, found their way back to family. Others did not. But all of them were shaped by the kindness and care that lived in places like St Saviour’s and in the hearts of the women who kept the lights on.
“Kit gave her life to servicand left behind a financial legacy that can grow and create better health outcomes for our community.” - Roselyn Fauth
- Source a Stich in Time by Tania Stoddard, Presbyterian Support South Canterbury 2024
A legacy that lives on beyond Kit
Kit passed away on 6 July 1973, aged 77. Her sisters, Ethel and Anne, had married and were buried with their husbands. For many years, the only name on her grave was her stepfather Patrick McGuire. Her mother Rosa Lena rests there too.
Kit left behind more than memories. Before her death, she made a small bequest to the South Canterbury Branch of the Nurses’ Association. When the branch was dissolved in 1988, the funds were used to establish a scholarship in her name. In 2024, that fund was resettled with the Aoraki Foundation as the Kit McGuire Nursing Fund. Today, it supports third-year nursing students from the Aoraki region. Contributions are welcomed to help continue Kit’s legacy and support the next generation of nurses.
In 1960, Kit was awarded an MBE for services to the community, particularly in connection with the South Canterbury Health Camp movement. At the time she was living at 51 Edward Street, just a short walk from the hospital where she had worked for many years. Aerial photographs from 1956 show Timaru Hospital from above. If you look closely, you can see 51 Edward Street over the road. This was the house where Kit lived when she received news of her MBE. She lived there until her death in 1973. The house is gone now. Cars park where her vegetable garden used to grow. But if you stop and look at the photograph, you can still imagine her there. You can picture the garden beds, the back step, the clink of enamel bowls in the kitchen, the quiet resolve of someone preparing for another long shift or relaxing after a days work.
Kit gave her life to service. She did not ask for recognition, but she left behind something that still grows. Her work lives on in the health of children, in the hands of nurses, and in the memory of a community she helped shape. And now a special fund in her name lives on to help the future workforce of health care follow on from her and so many health carers work, volunteering and advocacy.
Left: Issued one penny 'Boy and Girl on Swing' Health stamp, 1942, Melbourne, by Note Printing Branch, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Samuel Hall. The New Zealand Post Museum Collection, Gift of New Zealand Post Ltd. 1992. Te Papa (PH000377). Right: Issued one penny 'Beach Ball' Health stamp overprinted with '2d', 1939, Melbourne, by Note Printing Branch, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Samuel Hall. The New Zealand Post Museum Collection, Gift of New Zealand Post Ltd. 1992. Te Papa (PH000358). The camps were among the country's oldest social services, dating to 1919. Since 1929 they have been part-funded by annual NZ Post health stamps, however the camps' main source of money was from taxpayers.
Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20728, 15 May 1937, Page 4
Geraldine Health Camp Closes After Successful Season
The South Canterbury Health Camp in Geraldine concluded at the weekend, drawing widespread praise for its atmputosphere, effectiveness, and the joyful well-being of the children in attendance. In a glowing report, Dr. Baker McLaglen commended co-directors Mr. and Mrs. P. W. Ruston, stating that he had "never seen children looking more peacefully happy." He noted the campers' cheerfulness, politeness, and improved health—highlighting clear eyes, brighter skin, and alertness. Remarkably, not a single child showed signs of ill health such as a furred tongue.
Dr. McLaglen praised the Geraldine District High School for providing such a well-suited venue and acknowledged the vital contribution of the staff. Special mention was given to Miss Ruth Cleland, who, with her Home Science Diploma, ensured the children were well-nourished with high-quality meals. Other key staff included Misses B. E. B. Cook, Jean Holdgate, Bertha Sandrey, and Innean Stack, all of whom served with enthusiasm and care.
Mr. Ruston reflected on the final week, describing it as a time of "real happiness" for the children and expressing his belief that many would have eagerly stayed longer. He proposed extending future camps to four weeks to enhance the health benefits. On the final day, the children were treated to a festive farewell tea by Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Maddox P. Black and enjoyed a memorable motor outing to Peel Forest, thanks to local volunteers.
The camp, the first of its kind in South Canterbury, welcomed over 300 visitors throughout its duration and was hailed as an outstanding success. Mr. Ruston extended gratitude to the T.C.H. organisations in Timaru, Waimate, and especially Geraldine for their invaluable logistical support under the direction of Jobmaster Mr. J. S. Lorimer. Special recognition was also given to Scout patrol leaders W. Shearer and S. Lawson for their sustained efforts.
This pioneering health camp not only set a high standard for future initiatives but also reinforced the value of community collaboration in supporting children's well-being. Plans are already being considered for a larger and longer camp in the coming year.
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THD19370515.2.18
South Canterbury Health Camp to Host 100 Children in 1944
The annual South Canterbury Health Camp, organized by the South Canterbury Health Camp Committee, will be held in Geraldine from January 4 to 25, 1944. Thanks to the continued generosity of the Geraldine District High School Committee and the Education Board, the school has again been made available as the camp venue—an ideal facility for the purpose.
This year, the camp will accommodate 100 children—an increase of 40 from the previous year. To support the larger group, the committee has arranged for additional staff, including several Training College students assigned by the Manpower Officer. The committee is also pleased to welcome back Miss K. McGuire as matron and Miss H. Winter as camp cook, both of whom served with distinction in the past.
Due to the committee’s foresight in steadily acquiring equipment over previous years, the camp is now fully stocked with essentials such as stretchers, blankets, crockery, cutlery, and children’s clothing. As a result, minimal personal items will need to be brought by the children themselves.
The local community has historically shown strong support by donating food supplies—jam, eggs, vegetables, and other produce—and the committee hopes for similar generosity this year. Contributions of books, toys, and indoor games for use during wet weather are also encouraged, along with monetary donations.
The 1944 committee includes:
President: Mr. R. J. Runciman
Vice-President: Mr. C. W. Browne
Secretary: Mr. C. G. Baker
Honorary Treasurer: Mr. F. G. M. Raymond
Honorary Auditor: Mr. H. L. Warsaw
Medical Advisor: Dr. Walmsly
School Nurses: Mrs. Fraser and Miss Taine
Members: Mrs. A. R. Morrison, Messrs A. Calder, B. Wilson, and J. Olliver
Patrons: The Mayor and Mayoress of Timaru (Mr. and Mrs. A. E. S. Hanan), Mrs. W. G. Tweedy, and the Rev. Clyde Carr, M.P.
The committee looks forward to another successful camp, ensuring health, recreation, and well-being for the participating children.
- Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20728, 15 May 1937, Page 4
As well as malnutrition and poverty, a new threat swept through the country physcally disabling children for life. The solution to this crisis was championed by volunteers, which Kit contributed to as well.
CCS (originally the Crippled Children’s Society), is a national organisation born in Timaru in 1935 during the devastating polio epidemics. At a time disabled children were often sidelined, CCS was established at a Rotary conference to respond to the crisis. Spearheaded by figures like Wellington orthopaedic surgeon Alexander Gillies, the society quickly formed 17 branches to support the growing number of children left with impairments. People like Kit, helped support CCS. and with that foundational work over 90 years ago, has evolved into one of the country’s largest pan-disability service providers. Today, it supports over 5,000 disabled New Zealanders and their families through a blend of local services and national advocacy. The organisation embodies Kit’s values of inclusion, dignity, and the right for everyone to have a “fair go” and lead a life of their own choosing.