Cape: Nurse's Shoulder Cape
Production date
Circa 1907
Description
One red felted wool shoulder cape worn by Sister Ina Nellie Coster. Also pictured are the associated badgeds and buttons 1978.162.2-7.
See full details
Object Detail
Length neck-hem: whole: 930mm (36 5/8")
Born in Somerton, South Rakaia on 26 September 1880, Sister Coster was the third daughter of Mr and Mrs A C Coster. She trained at Dunedin Hospital, graduating in 1907 and joined the New Zealand Medical Corps Stationary Hospital at the start of the First World War, serving in New Zealand, England, Egypt and Greece. When orders came to shift the hospital from Port Said, Egypt to Salonika, Greece staff, patients and medical equipment were loaded onto the Marquette, a British troop carrier, along with troops and horses. The vessel was not marked with red crosses to indicate it was a hospital ship.
On 23 October 1915 at 9 am a German submarine fired a torpedo at the Marquette. The ship suffered a direct hit and sank within fifteen minutes. The evacuation was chaotic. One boat was lowered on top of another boat, crushing people inside the first boat. Some boats could not be lowered because the ship was tilting too rapidly. Sister Coster missed her chance to board a life boat as she was busy helping two sick orderlies onto the gangway. She was afloat in the water for nine hours clinging to boards, bouys and other floating debris to keep above water. Fortunately, at about 2:30 pm one of the lifeboats managed to make contact with the French destroyer the Tiralleur, who in turn made contact with the HMS Lynn. The two boats made their way back to pick up the survivours, among whom was Sister Coster. A third boat, the French Mortier, joined the rescue about 4:00pm. The three boats worked until nightfall and all the survivors were transported to Salonika. One hundred and sixty seven people died as a result of the torpedo strike, thirty-six of them nurses.
Sister Coster went on to serve with the New Zealand Army Nursing Service for three and half years, receiving three medals: 1914-1915 Star, the Victory Medal 1914-1919 and the British War Medal 1914-1920. Her nurse’s registration badge, New Zealand Army Brooch and Returned Soldiers Association badge are also pinned to her cape.
162/78
BON114
4185
Comments
Can you add to our information about this item? Click Add Comment to share your knowledge and help enrich our collection. Have a question about this item? Please email info@canterburymuseum.com.
Be the first to comment.
To order a copy of this image please contact Canterbury Museum images@canterburymuseum.com
Unless otherwise stated, or an author is acknowledged, Canterbury Museum holds copyright to all information on Collections Online. All efforts have been made to trace copyright holders. Please contact the Museum with any queries on this matter info@canterburymuseum.com
The information on this page was created from historic documentation and may not reflect the best available knowledge about the item. If you have information or questions about the objects on this website, please contact us. Images may be subject to copyright laws and are therefore not of reproduction quality.
Find out more about the people and the organisation behind Canterbury Museum. See what jobs are currently available and how to hire the Museum as a venue for your event.