Adelaide Hicks

Adelaide Hicks (née Martens, 6 March 1845 – 20 May 1930) was a New Zealand stewardess, homemaker, midwife and nurse.^[1]

Early life

Hicks was born in London, England, the daughter of a baker, George Martens, and his wife Elizabeth (née Joyner).^[1] She emigrated first to Australia and then to New Zealand, arriving in Otago in 1862. She initially worked as a domestic servant in Dunedin and then as a stewardess on the steam ships which ran between Invercargill, Bluff and Lyttelton.^[2]

Adult life

Hicks married Henry Hicks in 1864 and they moved to Dunedin. At the time of their marriage he was a publican in Invercargill, however he had previously worked as a steward and cook on steam ships.^[1] After their marriage, he returned to this work while Hicks took domestic work. In 1879 the couple moved to the Taieri/Mosgiel area and set up a firewood business.^[1]

In 1884 Hicks' husband was kicked by a horse and died, leaving her with nine young children to raise. Two years later she moved her family to Factory Road in Mosgiel and opened a maternity home, "Hicks' Maternity Home".^[3] Although she had no formal nursing training, her establishment became the first registered maternity home in the area.^[1] The earliest surviving records of Hicks' home suggest it was small - in 1909, she attended 10 women, three in their own homes and the remainder at Hicks'.^[3]

In the small community of Mosgiel, Hicks was called on to assist in a variety of medical situations; in 1918 she was a volunteer nurse for patients of the influenza epidemic, and on one occasion she attended the scene of a train accident to assist with the dead.^[1]

In 1922 Hicks left the nursing home in her daughter Edith's hands and travelled to England to visit her brothers. She retired in 1927 and Edith carried on the maternity service until Hicks died in 1930.^[1] After her mother's death, Edith moved to Winton and was a maternity nurse at a hospital there.^[2]

References