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Grace Brandon and Dr John Ewart

From Rev. Brian Brandon

Grace was born on the 12th of August. 1867 at Lower Clapton, the second child of Richard and Lucy Brandon. She was fourteen years old when she came to New Zealand. Although her brothers used to speak very highly of her, she did not travel as much as the other members of the family, and she died before any of her grandchildren were old enough to remember her, and so not as much is known of her.

When she was a teenager in Wanganui she became sick with Tetanus. With no antibiotic in those days, she was so ill, the doctor said there was only one thing left and that was to pray over her. He knelt beside the bed and prayed for her and she recovered. She was never very strong after this illness. She was small and slight in stature.

She trained as a nurse in Wellington Hospital, and was among the first group of nurses to graduate from a new 4 months course in 1988/89 that had been introduced by the Superintendent, Dr Truby King. It was not until 1901 that 3yr training for nurses began.

She was married in 1889 to Doctor John , an outstanding surgeon and superintendent of the Wellington Public Hospital. from 1889 to 1909. They had four children, Lucy, Edith (Daisy), Ian and David, who died as an infant. Ian followed in the footsteps of his parents and became a doctor. She had a number of miscarriages. The family lived in the Superintendent's house in the grounds of the hospital before moving to Willis Street.

Grace died from chronic gastritis and colitis on the 7th of September 1923, aged 56. Her husband, John, lived until 1939.

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