Mary Anne Reidy

Mary Anne Reidy (1880–1977) was a New Zealand civilian and military nurse, community leader. She was born in County Clare, Ireland in 1880.Reidy served as a nurse for the New Zealand military from January 1916 to December 1918. The next 26 years of her life were spent attempting to preserve the Waikato Hospital, for which Reidy worked as a nurse, and she became a widely respected figure in her community. Reidy died on 17 January 1977.^[1]

Early life

Mary Anne Reidy was born in Ireland, but he family had moved to Auckland before Reidy was 22. She then helped her father around the house for two years before her nursing career.

Nursing career

In 1904, Reidy began to work at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, starting out by washing dishes, but she soon became a nurse. In 1911, when Reidy was 31, she received formal training at the Waikato Hospital for three years.^[2]

Military service

Reidy served in the military from January 1916 to December 1918. She was very kind to the men, who nicknamed her "Ten Franc Reidy" for the money she lent to soldiers.^[3] She concluded her service after the hospital closed.

Waikato Hospital

After a brief stint training nurses, Reidy took control of Waikato Hospital, which faced closure due to finances. She was a tyrant, but a loving one.^[4] She worked for twenty-six years at various fundraisers to keep the hospital solvent.

References

External links

• Works by or about Mary Anne Reidy at Internet Archive