Janet Wyse Mackie Williamson was a nurse from Otago, New Zealand. She served in the Boer War in South Africa and was New Zealand's first recipient of the Royal Red Cross award.
Occupation
nurse
Born
September 26, 1862
Died
March 12, 1936
Overview
Janet Wyse Mackie Williamson (26 September 1862 – 12 March 1936) was a nurse from Otago, New Zealand. She served in the Boer War in South Africa and was New Zealand's first recipient of the Royal Red Cross award.
Early life
Williamson was born in Dunedin to Jane Sangster Waters and John Mackie Williamson. Her parents were landowners and her father was an elder in the North Taieri Church. In 1890, Williamson started three years of nursing training at Dunedin Hospital, graduating in 1893.
Career
In 1899 Williamson was one of nine nurses selected from 50 who applied to serve in the Boer War in South Africa. She was appointed Sister-in-Charge of the contingent, which left New Zealand on board the Talune, and arrived in Cape Town on 5 April 1900. The nurses were first sent to Wyneburgh and then to No. 10 General Hospital in Bloemfontein, where Williamson was placed in charge of the hospital. The nurses were stationed there for 17 months. Williamson left South Africa on a troop ship in September 1901.
