Robina Thomson Cameron (15 April 1892 – 28 June 1971), known as Ruby Cameron, was a New Zealand district nurse, community leader and nursing inspector. She was born in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Midlothian
Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...
, Scotland, on 15 April 1892, coming to New Zealand in 1911 where she trained at Cook Hospital, Gisborne.
Career
During
World War 1
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Cameron worked in England and Egypt, returning to New Zealand in 1919 where she became a district (public health) nurse on the East Coast of the North Island. In 1931, she was appointed as district nurse at
Rotorua
Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...
, by the Department of Public Health. In Rotorua she was appalled at the state of Māori health, housing, unemployment, poor sanitation, diet, incidence of infectious diseases and infant mortality. She met with chiefs and women on the
marae
A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...
, set up health clinics, and did much educational work. While in Rotorua, Cameron was involved in the establishment of the
Women's Health League
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...
, and remained its president from its formation in 1937, until her death in 1971. The Women's Health League had strong ties to
Te Arawa
Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka''). The League built a guest house to accommodate Māori visiting Rotorua to see relatives in hospital as they were often refused accommodation in hotels and boarding houses. The Janet Fraser Memorial Guest House, named after the League's patroness
Janet Fraser
Janet Fraser (née Munro, formerly Kemp; 31 January 1883 – 7 March 1945) was a New Zealand community leader and the wife of Peter Fraser, who was the 24th Prime Minister of New Zealand (1940–49) during the Second World War. She was born ...
, was opened by
Peter Fraser
Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand Lab ...
in 1948.
She lobbied the Department of Native Affairs, local MPs and the Arawa Trust Board on the housing situation which resulted in the Department building houses in the Rotorua district. Cameron was instrumental in gettin free milk provided to school children in
Native Schools
In New Zealand, native schools were established to provide education for Māori. The first schools for Māori children were established by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in the Bay of Islands after the arrival of the CMS in 1814. Bishop ...
and the scheme was later extended to all state schools.
For her involvement in the Women's Health League, Cameron was appointed a
Member 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 ...
(MBE) in the 1938 King's Birthday Honours. Her work led to an improvement in the health of Māori people especially children and babies. In 1986 the Tunohopu Health Centre in Rotorua was opened and dedicated to Nurse Cameron.