The Nurses' Memorial Chapel Christchurch, New Zealand
A testament to New Zealand’s pioneering nurses and to the thousands of nurses who were called away to the battlefields during times of conflict.
A testament to New Zealand’s pioneering nurses and to the thousands of nurses who were called away to the battlefields during times of conflict.
The beautiful Nurses’ Memorial Chapel in front of Christchurch Hospital is one of New Zealand’s most significant memorials to women. Built in 1927, it commemorates three Christchurch-Hospital trained nurses who died when the transport ship Marquette was torpedoed in World War 1, and two nurses who died after being on duty in the 1918 Influenza Epidemic.
Arched Gothic-style beams frame the interior and timber also features in the chapel’s intricate carving. Stained glass windows inject colour and celebrate the role of pioneering nursing figures such as Sybilla Maude, Annie Pattrick and Hester Maclean. Images of WW1 and WW2 nurses and nursing medals are depicted in the memorial window.
The aisle runner, which tells the story of the Marquette sinking, provides a bold centrepiece.
Together, all these features provide a memorable space for visitors and a special setting for boutique weddings and other small ceremonies and services.
Significance
The chapel is believed to be the only chapel in the world built as a memorial to nurses who died in WW1 or the 1918 Influenza Epidemic. It remembers all 10 New Zealand nurses who died when the Marquette was torpedoed on 23 October 1915, survivors of the sinking, and the legacy of our pioneering and wartime nurses. It was also New Zealand’s first public hospital chapel, with space originally provided for patients in beds and wheelchairs.
A small museum highlights many of the stories associated with the chapel and includes images of nurses it commemorates.
Flanked by colourful roses and medicinal herbs, the chapel sits in its own beautifully maintained reserve. It is a popular lunchtime retreat for hospital staff.
Christchurch City Council formally took over ownership of the chapel and its site from the Canterbury District Health Board after a land exchange in 2014. The unique memorial is administered by the Nurses’ Memorial Chapel Trust while the Friends of the Nurses’ Memorial Chapel look after its day-to-day care.
Twice threatened with demolition in the 1970s and 1989, the chapel is protected by a Heritage Order in the Christchurch District Plan where it is described as “highly significant”.
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