Jocelyn Maud Ryburn (née Dunlop, 6 February 1910 – 5 April 1980) was a long-serving President of the New Zealand

Plunket Society The Royal New Zealand Plunket Trust provides a range of free services aimed at improving the development, health and wellbeing of children under the age of five within New Zealand, where it is commonly known simply as Plunket. Its mission is "t ...

Early life

Ryburn was born in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

on 6 February 1910. Her father was Reverend Francis Wallace Dunlop and her grandfather was Professor of Theology at Otago University. In 1913, Ryburn's father was appointed professor of philosophy at Otago, and the family moved to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. There Ryburn attended Archerfield College, followed by the Otago School of Art. Ryburn met Hubert James Ryburn at St. Andrew's Church, Dunedin, and they were married at Knox Church on 24 March 1931.

Adult life

Ryburn's husband was appointed master of Knox College in 1941, and the couple lived there while raising their four children. Ryburn helped establish the Plunket Society in

Opoho Ōpoho is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It sits on the western flank of Signal Hill, New Zealand, to the northeast of the city centre, overlooking North East Valley and the Dunedin Botanic Gardens. The New Zealand Ministry for ...

and the North-East Valley suburbs, and was the first chairwoman of the branch. In 1953 she was elected to the New Zealand Plunket Council and in 1957 became president. She held this position until 1970. One of her campaigns during her presidency was for increased government subsidies for Plunket nurses' salaries. As part of this campaign, Ryburn sat on a joint steering committee with representatives of the Department of Health to investigate whether mothers in new housing areas had access to appropriate health services for their babies. From 1963 until 1974 Ryburn was warden of St. Margaret's College. She also served on the Board of Governors of Columba College. In the

1970 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1970 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the '' Lo ...

, Ryburn was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to the Plunket Society. Ryburn died on 5 April 1980 following an accidental fall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryburn, Jocelyn 20th-century New Zealand people 1910 births 1980 deaths People from Invercargill New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Accidental deaths from falls Dunlop family (New Zealand)