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Island Nurses: Stories of Birth, Life and Death on Remote Great Barrier Island
Adele and Leonie live and work on remote Great Barrier Island, so called because it faces the full brunt of wild Pacific weather and acts as a barrier for the mainland about 100 kilometers away. With a population of about 900, no electricity, no ATM, no street lights, and one pub, this is a wild and rugged place. It has a long history of farming, whaling, and fishing, and the people who live there are a hardy lot, proud of their isolation. It's also a popular summer holiday destination for mainlanders. Midwifery and nursing on a remote island brings with it a wide range of dramas and emergencies, and Adele and Leonie have many wonderful, sometimes tragic, sometimes happy, sometimes funny, stories to tell of more than 25 years of challenging and uplifting work with the hardy island inhabitants. There are several dimensions to this book: it's a story about the simple life on an isolated island; a story about two remarkable women and how they forged their careers in a remote place; a story of community and the births and deaths that shape the ups and downs of that community; a classic story of making do and overcoming adversity; and a story of hope and new life.
300 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 31, 2022
I really loved this book because of my connection to Great Barrier Island. I saw a couple of other reviews that said it was poorly written -- but considering it was written by two nurses, not two authors, I thought it was actually really well done. Having just returned from a vacation on the island, I was familiar with many of the places mentioned in the stories. Add to that my memories of so many childhood vacations there when my grandparents lived at Kawa (in Katherine Bay) from the mid-70s to the early 1990s made this a fascinating read for me. I remember what it is like when your electricity comes from a generator that is only run for about an hour each evening, long enough for Tupe to watch the news and the freezer to be kept cold for another day! I remember the party line telephone system and how anyone could listen in on other people's calls! I know how hard my nana worked to feed us all using a wood burning stove, milking the cow, going out in the dinghy to catch fresh fish. I even remember being taken in the dinghy from our bay to Port Fitzroy to see the nurse once when I became very sick on the island. I loved reading about Leonie and Adele's experiences nursing on the island.
September 10, 2017
When they published their memoir, Leonie and Adele for more than thirty years had lived and breathed their ‘jobs’—‘vocations’ may be a more accurate term—as full-time rural nurse specialists and midwives on Great Barrier Island, 100 km off the coast of north-eastern New Zealand. Great Barrier Island is ‘Off-Grid’ and thirty years ago it was not only off-grid but for a sigificant proportion of the inhabitants, off-road, off-phone, and off-beat. But the locals still had babies, cut their fingers—or worse—off with axes or chain-saws, got fish hooks stuck in difficult places, concussed themselves by falling over banks in the middle of a dark and stormy night miles from anywhere—usually less then sober on their way back to their boat, and of course at the bottom of the bank was the rocky shore with the tide fast rising— and on top of all that the locals suffered the usual illnesses like cardiac arrests, strokes, and all manner of mental health problems. And everyone has to die sometime, and islanders tend to want to stay on the island until their last breath, however remotely they live—for example, in a bay or small island that is only accessible by rowing there and then hiking through the bush.
Adele or Leonie, one in a small house/clinic at the rugged north end of the island and the other in the centre, were usually the first responders, as well as the primary health carers. Back then, if the situation called for an emergency flight to Auckland Hospital, add at least two hours on for the helicopter to get the message (if the phones were working), fly to the Barrier and back to Auckland with the patient on board (if the weather allowed).
This is their story and the story of the eccentric islanders and community they served and loved, and today with more modern amenities and more staff continue to serve. A positive and warming true story to read in these dark times.
Adele or Leonie, one in a small house/clinic at the rugged north end of the island and the other in the centre, were usually the first responders, as well as the primary health carers. Back then, if the situation called for an emergency flight to Auckland Hospital, add at least two hours on for the helicopter to get the message (if the phones were working), fly to the Barrier and back to Auckland with the patient on board (if the weather allowed).
This is their story and the story of the eccentric islanders and community they served and loved, and today with more modern amenities and more staff continue to serve. A positive and warming true story to read in these dark times.
April 28, 2018
An insight into resourceful and adventurous nurses on Great Barrier island, off coast of NZ with Auckland the closest hospital via emergency helicopter. Genuine stories. Compassionate communities. And Ivan, such a versatile and reliable doctor.
The structure of moving between past and present was a little confusing. The potential anecdotes were genuinely dramatic, but the telling could have been more tightly structured. Useful map and photos. Respect for Maori traditions interwoven.
Historically these pioneer medical women deserve their story told.
The structure of moving between past and present was a little confusing. The potential anecdotes were genuinely dramatic, but the telling could have been more tightly structured. Useful map and photos. Respect for Maori traditions interwoven.
Historically these pioneer medical women deserve their story told.
June 11, 2017
Leonie Howie and Adele Robertson live and work on remote Great Barrier Island-so called because it faces the full brunt of the wild Pacific weather and acts as a barrier for the mainland about 100 kilometres away. With a population of about 1000, no reticulated electricity, no ATM machine, no street lights and one pub, it is a wildly beautiful place. It has a long history of farming, whaling and fishing, and the people who live here are a resilient lot, proud of their community.
Leonie is married to the doctor on the island, and their younger children sometimes attended consultations, including births, although they were generally asleep in the car.
Midwifery and nursing on a remote island bring a wide range of dramas and emergencies, and Adele and Leonie share the islanders' stories-sometimes tragic, sometimes happy, sometimes funny-from over 30 years of challenging yet uplifting work.
In the early days, Dr Howie worked from an old building on the southern end of the island and in the public health nurses’ cottage in the north, travelling by motorbike and then in a sec¬ond-hand Holden sedan. “ On Wednesday they drove in Ivan’s iconic and durable light blue Holden HQ up north to the nurse’s cottage in Port FitzRoy for the northern clinic. At this time, in the mid-eighties it took just under an hour to reach Adele’s clinic.”
Clinics were also held in a caravan on the couple’s front lawn, and in their lounge before Dr Howie encouraged the locals to form a community trust which built the islands medical centre.
A map at the beginning of the book is a great asset and I found myself referring to it as I was reading the book. The collection of photographs also compliments the text and I loved the cover design, the fresh faced nurse’s smiles inviting the reader to open the book and read their story.
This memoir is the first book the pair has written and it highlights just how a small community supports itself and the people living there. It will be of interest to anyone interested in health services and who enjoys a life away from city living.
Leonie is married to the doctor on the island, and their younger children sometimes attended consultations, including births, although they were generally asleep in the car.
Midwifery and nursing on a remote island bring a wide range of dramas and emergencies, and Adele and Leonie share the islanders' stories-sometimes tragic, sometimes happy, sometimes funny-from over 30 years of challenging yet uplifting work.
In the early days, Dr Howie worked from an old building on the southern end of the island and in the public health nurses’ cottage in the north, travelling by motorbike and then in a sec¬ond-hand Holden sedan. “ On Wednesday they drove in Ivan’s iconic and durable light blue Holden HQ up north to the nurse’s cottage in Port FitzRoy for the northern clinic. At this time, in the mid-eighties it took just under an hour to reach Adele’s clinic.”
Clinics were also held in a caravan on the couple’s front lawn, and in their lounge before Dr Howie encouraged the locals to form a community trust which built the islands medical centre.
A map at the beginning of the book is a great asset and I found myself referring to it as I was reading the book. The collection of photographs also compliments the text and I loved the cover design, the fresh faced nurse’s smiles inviting the reader to open the book and read their story.
This memoir is the first book the pair has written and it highlights just how a small community supports itself and the people living there. It will be of interest to anyone interested in health services and who enjoys a life away from city living.
December 31, 2017
This review has been crossposted from my blog at The Cosy Dragon . Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.
Leonie and Adele worked as the primary health care providers on remote Great Barrier Island before any of the mod-cons were available such as phones and consistent electricity. Only 100km from the mainland, the government didn’t realise the isolation and trials for the nurses in this wild place and so these stories are how the nurses could negotiate the realities of isolated life.
While the stories were quite entertaining and there was plenty of variety, something about the tone of the novel made it feel slightly awkward to read. Ah yes. Is it in present tense? My literature interpretation is a bit rusty. Anyway, I’m sure it was written in this manner to give a sense of presence and urgency to the life situations, however it just made it awkward for me to read.
What I appreciated was the wide range of situations that were covered in the novel. The other recent nursing novel I read, Aussie Midwives, focussed on the experiences of different midwives, so this had an entirely different content to it. Less internal thoughts, more events!
Something that still carries stigma and is rarely discussed is that many women suffer from miscarriages for no obvious reason. Both Leonie and Adele want to have children, but it will be hell for one of them. While perhaps not a key part of being a remote nurse, it is a fact of life that dealing with births is a regular occurrence, no matter how painful it might be at the time.
This was another memoir I found to be lacking in substance, but it was certainly more enjoyable than Admissions. This had a greater number of anecdotes that energised me and that I couldn’t wait to relate to others. Additionally, I have a nurse in my family who I knew would appreciate the novel so it won’t go to waste!
Leonie and Adele worked as the primary health care providers on remote Great Barrier Island before any of the mod-cons were available such as phones and consistent electricity. Only 100km from the mainland, the government didn’t realise the isolation and trials for the nurses in this wild place and so these stories are how the nurses could negotiate the realities of isolated life.
While the stories were quite entertaining and there was plenty of variety, something about the tone of the novel made it feel slightly awkward to read. Ah yes. Is it in present tense? My literature interpretation is a bit rusty. Anyway, I’m sure it was written in this manner to give a sense of presence and urgency to the life situations, however it just made it awkward for me to read.
What I appreciated was the wide range of situations that were covered in the novel. The other recent nursing novel I read, Aussie Midwives, focussed on the experiences of different midwives, so this had an entirely different content to it. Less internal thoughts, more events!
Something that still carries stigma and is rarely discussed is that many women suffer from miscarriages for no obvious reason. Both Leonie and Adele want to have children, but it will be hell for one of them. While perhaps not a key part of being a remote nurse, it is a fact of life that dealing with births is a regular occurrence, no matter how painful it might be at the time.
This was another memoir I found to be lacking in substance, but it was certainly more enjoyable than Admissions. This had a greater number of anecdotes that energised me and that I couldn’t wait to relate to others. Additionally, I have a nurse in my family who I knew would appreciate the novel so it won’t go to waste!
February 13, 2023
As a nurse who is also intrigued with remote rugged places and has spent some time on Great Barrier Island this book held a lot of appeal and didn't disappoint . The anecdotes of different patients stories sometimes ended a little too abruptly and sometimes there lacked flow linking the stories but this is how it is as a nurse , each new patient brings a new story I guess. Overall I would say it is a great book about some big hearted nurses ( and doctor ) who have worked tirelessly and lovingly for a community they love and who love them in return . What a legacy of hard work and care they have .
July 31, 2017
“Island Nurses” is a story about two remarkable women and how they forged their careers in one of New Zealand’s more remote places – Great Barrier Island. Filled with many anecdotes of life and death situations, it is also the story of a community coping with isolation from the mainland, and having to ‘make-do’. A really good read
December 31, 2017
Much of the subject matter was interesting but the quality of writing made this book a hard slog. A thorough edit for readability and even basic spelling would have made a real difference. I can (almost) forgive using “discrete” in place of “discreet” because that’s a fairly common error these days, but the spelling of “courtesy” as “courtesty” is just plain wrong.
March 28, 2021
Not the best written book that I've ever read but these nurses have led interesting lives living and working on an island off the coast of Auckland (and not close either). They're empathetic and inventive and adaptable and seemingly unflappable.
September 25, 2021
Very well written account on life on Great Barrier Island as primary health carers of the island people evolving over time, and indeed the basics of primary health care in the community in general. Thank you ladies.
January 14, 2024
I picked this book up at the art gallery at Claris on Great Barrier Island. It's a really interesting read and gives an insight into what real life is like for the locals on the island. I've given a bonus star for how lovely it was to read this while sitting on the island's beautiful beaches.
July 2, 2018
I loved this book! It was hard to put down and the best read, from beginning to end. I would highly recommend it.
July 13, 2019
Interesting concepts but not well executed. The different stories seem abrupt and don't blend into each other.
December 12, 2019
Loved this book, well written and a real slice of NZ life on Great Barrier island and other isolated rural communities. A great read.
January 26, 2020
An excellent record historically and a sensitive and caring memoir of life on Great Barrier. A brilliant read. Reveals the "kiwi" spirit and character. Inspirational.
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November 24, 2018I’m not reviewing this as such, but I wanted to write and say I loved reading it. Beautiful stories of people and life on the Island (which I now want to visit for the first time!). Thank you so much for sharing your stories. As an RN they captured my imagination and made me really think about what the reality of nursing in this setting was like. Loved it!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews