Homage paid to ‘beloved physician’
A CENTURY after her death, Dr Margaret Cruickshank is held in just as high esteem in Waimate as she was when she practised medicine in the South Canterbury township.
Several events to commemorate her life were held in Waimate on Wednesday, organised by the Waimate branch of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists and other community organisations.
Several of Dr Cruickshank’s family members, dignitaries and community groups laid flowers at the base of a statue of the highly respected doctor that was unveiled in 1923.
Dr Cruickshank, the first female to become a registered doctor in New Zealand, died of influenza on November 28, 1918, at the age of 45.
Speaking at the ceremony, commemorations group chairwoman Sandra Coles said Dr Cruickshank was one of 14 doctors who died treating influenza patients and 17 people who died of the disease in Waimate.
She served the Waimate community for 23 years.
‘‘The regard in which she was, and still is, held is well documented. This memorial statue . . . says it all with the inscription ‘the beloved physician, faithful unto death’. Dr Margaret Cruickshank, you are not forgotten by this community,’’ Mrs Coles said.
Dr Cruickshank’s greatnephew Jock Scott, of Kyeburn, played the bagpipes during the ceremony.
While he recalled stories about his relative that were told when he was young, it was not until later in life he discovered just how prominent his family member was.
‘‘We didn’t know much about her to start. As kids, you don’t really think about what it really means to you. It’s only later in life you realise ‘my God, why didn’t I listen earlier?’’’
He was immensely proud of what she achieved and said her enduring legacy was her ‘‘dedication to her profession’’.
‘‘She thought about other people more than she thought about herself. I am just so proud to be associated with her.’’
Other events on the commemoration programme featured the release of a first day cover and commemorative stamp of Dr Cruickshank and an official function at the Waimate Event Centre.
Earlier this year, Dr Cruickshank was immortalised on the town’s towering grain silos alongside other Waimate identities by artist Bill Scott, in the form of a monochromatic sepiatoned mural.