1965 Whangārei nurses reunite, reflect on careers and camaraderie

The class of 1968, when they graduated from their Whangārei nurses training after many started training around 17 years old. Sixty years later they reunited to reflect and reconnect on a career that brought many of them so much joy. Photo / Supplied

Full dress was required at mealtimes, doors were locked by 9pm and cigarettes were common instead of food on lunch breaks.

That was 1965 and the reality for the 17 year olds training to be nurses at Whangārei Hospital.

Those memories were likely a topic of conversation over the weekend after around 25 women attended their 60-year nurses’ reunion.

The morning tea saw around 25 women gather at the Whangārei District nurse tearoom to reflect and reconnect on their time as nurses and their training in the 60s. Photo / Supplied

Coralie Zimmer said a family had been created back in 1965 during the three years of nurse training. The memories and camaraderie would last a lifetime.

Nurses back then trained and lived at the hospital itself, with six weeks of theory and six weeks of practical work in constant rotation.

Zimmer, Josephine Smith, and Judy Nazarek all from Whangārei started their training at the age of 17, saying nursing was a common career path chosen by young women.

Young women came from far and wide to train including Wellington, Gisborne and even the Pacific Islands.

They were paid around £12 a week, and half of that was spent on their on-site accommodation and food.

There were strict rules in place which even included wearing a dress uniform on lunch breaks.

Zimmer said they would race back to get dressed into the blue uniform, and put their ward uniform back on to be on the ward within 30 minutes.

“Some people didn’t actually eat, they just raced back and had a cigarette,” Smith said.

The trio agreed it was a hierarchical system that had training nurses at the bottom of the pecking order.

“A nurse a year ahead of you was a very superior being. And if a doctor came into the room, you jumped to attention ... you almost bowed,” Zimmer said.

Within a year of their training, they would be placed in charge of wards, often alone with 30 patients requiring attention.

It was a contrast to the fun moments in between where they would hang out their dormitory windows, and heckle at young couples saying goodnight for the 9pm curfew.

“Pretty much at 18 we had an awful lot of responsibility,” Smith said.

Nazarek was one of four people to organise the long-awaited reunion.

She said the get-together had been a weekend of laughter and companionship.

“We had people coming up to say ‘This is the best, I wouldn’t miss this for anything',” Nazarek said.

“At our age, it’s magic.”

A morning tea was held on Saturday at the Whangārei District Nurses tearoom, before a dinner at the Whangārei Cruising Club.

There, pictures from their nursing careers played on a display with favourite music selected from attendees.

Then on Sunday, 18 attendees enjoyed a harbour cruise while reflecting on their nursing careers and reconnecting.

One former nurse travelled from Perth to attend, others from Wellington and Christchurch.

Zimmer, Nazarek, and Smith felt times have changed from when they were able to bring a cup of tea to patients and sit and talk with them.

“Now it’s much more technical, and the nurses are rushed off their feet,” Zimmer said.

The women agreed a career in nursing opened up opportunities, such as for Nazarek who got to work in southern Sudan and in Bangladesh where she met her husband.

Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.