Graduates of Waikato Hospital's student nursing class of 1964.
Graduates of Waikato Hospital's student nursing class of 1964.
Waikato Hospital’s student nursing class of 1964 recently took a trip down memory lane for their 60th reunion. Hamiltonian Judy Osborne was part of this class and shared some of her memories of being a young nurse with the Waikato Herald.
Originally a group of 72 first-year students and 36 nursing graduates, only 26 were able to attend their 60th reunion in February.
Osborne retired a few years ago after 55 years of nursing. Half of her career she spent at Waikato Hospital.
She said although the class graduated over half a century ago, they formed lifelong friendships during their training and remained close to this day.
“Many smaller groups have kept in touch, including four of us in Hamilton.
“We exchange Christmas cards with several others... One of them, Anne Seaton, was also my matron of honour [when I got married] and I was her bridesmaid.
“I flatted with [another classmate] Nell Smith, while I was working and then we went our separate ways and started families. We rekindled in Hamilton years later and we worked together in a job doing dressing work in the community. It was lovely to be with her again.”
44 student nurses from the class of 1964 were at the 50th reunion in 2014.
She said the recent 60th reunion made her realise the whole class were still a great team today, though sadly, some have already passed away.
“A few nurses worked together in making the reunion happen and it’s amazing to me that after all these years, we can still gather together and share our ideas and contributions.
“We’ve all worked together well as a team to do something one person could not do, it is really unique.
“We’ve had experiences and opportunities we never knew about back then. But one thing that remains constant is the bond we formed years ago.”
Osborne said she remembers her first day as a nursing student well.
“Suitcases in hand and most of us were just freshly 17 coming from... rural areas. We were naive and innocent and not used to the city life at all.
Judy Osborne (middle) worked with the two ladies in her nursing career. The lady on the right, Anne Seaton, was her matron of honour.
“[Hamilton] was different then too, you could walk safely on the streets at night, and I used to. Now you wouldn’t even dream of it.”
She said originally she didn’t want to be a nurse.
“Back in the day, the general trend for careers was typing, teaching, and nursing. My mum and one of our friends wanted me to be a nurse and thought it would benefit me.
“I said okay, I gave it a go, I stayed in it, and I’m happy I did.
“I think our parents and friends see characteristics in us before we do, and they know sometimes what you can be good at before you do so I listened.”
Osborne said Waikato Hospital had a special place in her heart, not only because of her girlfriends but also because it was there where she met her husband Donald.
Judy Osborne met her husband at the Waikato Hospital in 1967. She married him two years later.
She added many other nursing classmates also met their future husbands at the hospital.
“[I met Don] in... 1967, in the middle of a medical ward.
“He served the hospital... as attendant on district... and charge attendant, in medical gas.
“What began as an ordinary pleasant chat while helping an unwell patient, evolved into a marriage of over 51 years.
“It was a lovely surprise and a flutter of heart to be asked on a date there and then, and I didn’t know till later that Don had seen me around [the hospital a couple of times] and wanted to get to know me.
“He was blond-haired, blue-eyed, and had a professional and kind way with patients. What was not to like?
“Our togetherness flourished in the way these things do and we married 1st March 1969.”
Before passing away in 2020, Don worked at Waikato Hospital for over 40 years, including 20 years in the emergency department.
Six decades have seen many changes at Waikato Hospital, including the demolitions of nursing homes.
Osborne said she was still around when many of the changes took place.
“We started in the Ryburn Nurses Home which has now been demolished and a big change now is that we used to be hospital-trained.
“We had a lounge where we would talk about our workloads, nothing was sacred between us nurses and I think this is where our bond formed. They don’t have that communal living anymore.
“They demolished the old people’s wards as well as other nurses’ homes too. When they built [the] Hilda Ross [House], we were the very first nurses to go into that, which has now been demolished too.”
Prelim student nursing class of 1964 at Waikato Hospital. Photo / Judy Osborne
The Hilda Ross House was established in 1963 as a home for student nurses and later became temporary accommodation for people accessing services at Waikato Hospital. It was demolished in 2015 after being identified as being at risk during an earthquake.
After 55 years of nursing, Osborne said the profession had been a gateway to other opportunities in the health sector.
“I did plastic surgery at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.
“I then specialised in burns and plastic surgery [at Waikato Hospital] which can be very hard, but the pleasure for me in that was seeing someone get better after a traumatic experience.”
“I did seven years in occupational health therapy which also meant a lot to me.”
Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.
