Medals and awards

DUNEDIN, June 21.

Special windows and other coigns of vantage on the line of the route of the Royal procession are in great demand, and high prices have been offered. In several instances several tempting offers for prominent positions have been refused, £15 and £20 were offered and refused in three cases. It has been decided to extend the accommodation on the Octagon stand to seat 1,000 persons, the Premier advising Mr J. Eman Smith that relatives of troopers who are to be decorated must be provided for.

The gold medals which are being manufactured by Mr Frank Hyams, for presentation by the Duchess of Cornwall to the nurses who have returned from South Africa, are unique in character, the design being in the shape of a Maltese cross, embellished with finely chased laurel wreaths, interwoven between the four divisions of the cross. In the centre is a disc with beaded edge, carrying in enamel the red cross symbol of ambulance work. The medal is suspended from a gold bar by a blue ribbon, the bar being engraved with Maori words, “Pai Rawa”, of which the English interpretation is “Well done”. On the back of the medal is inscribed “Otago and Southland Nursing Sister, 1900, South Africa, 1901”, and it also bears the name of the recipient.

Nurse PEIPER

The arrival of nurse PEIPER in Invercargill yesterday gave an opportunity for the public presentation of the medal provided by an Otago and Southland committee for nurses who had served in South Africa, and which has been so worthily earned by this young lady. There, was a large attendance of ladies, among whom members of the hospital staff were conspicuous by their uniforms and several gentlemen, including the Mayor (in the chair), Major Hawkins, Ven. Archdeacon Stocker, and Mr J. Stead (chairman of the Hospital Trust). The medal is a very handsome gold one emblazoned and engraved in terms appropriate to the circumstances which suggested the presentation. The bar bears the words "Pai Rawa", and is attached to the medal by a red, white and blue ribbon. The medal has the inscription "Otago and Southland Nursing Committee, Sister Dora Peiper. 1900.1901 — South Africa", and in the centre the symbolic Red Cross gives the cue to the service which induces presentation.

The Mayor expressed regret at the small attendance of gentlemen at this function, but assured the ladies that business was especially pressing at this time, and that the hour was rather inconvenient for many who would very much like to attend and were really interested in the occasion. He had himself thought that possibly the ceremony could have been arranged to take place at the approaching military sports in connection with the movement to raise funds for a memorial to fallen troopers. That course might not have been convenient for Nurse PEIPER, so it was resolved to present the medal to her at the earliest possible moment, and give her the opportunity of wearing it at once — and there were some advantages in that. Most of the company would remember that almost as soon as it became known that the trouble in South Africa meant serious warfare the colony offered to send men, and this offer was accepted. The war dragged out into a very lengthy and disastrous affair, and a number of our nurses offered their services. It was decided to send them, and nurse PEIPER was the Southland Hospital’s representative. He believed that almost before it was decided to send nurses Miss PEIPER had made up her mind to go to South Africa, as she thought she could do good work — and she had done no. She had been through the whole of the campaign, having been in South Africa for over 2 ½  years and seen the course of the war in almost all its stages. Of course in her wanderings she met other nurses and [illegible] some valuable experience, but — he would say this because Nurse PEIPER would not — she found herself as good as any of them (applause), and quite as well fitted to carry on the work. It was well known that sickness was as disastrous to the troops as were the sword and bullet, and the nurses in the fever and base hospitals had to contend with the diseases. Nurse PEIPER had suffered, but had now fully recovered, which was a matter for congratulation to her, and great pleasure to her friends. His principal duty that afternoon was to present Nurse PEIPER the medal which was provided by the committee set up in Otago and Southland at the time the nurses were sent away. No sooner had their boys and girls been sent away than the people were looking forward to welcoming them back. A medal was the customary military recognition of service, and marked the wearer for special distinction. In presenting the medal his Worship said that it was one of very few issued in this district, and one any young woman should be proud of. He again assured Nurse PEIPER of the pleasure her return gave to the community as a whole, and wished her every success in her future sphere of labour.

Major Hawkins said that he had very great pleasure in being one of the number to welcome Nurse PEIPER back from South Africa, where she had so worthily filled the position of nurse. There had been a certain amount of adverse press criticism as to the condition of the fever and base hospitals, but on the whole he believed that everything had been very j satisfactory indeed. There was much to be done at such a time, and it could not be expected that hospitals or the field could be anything like the Invercargill or any hospital at all in peace time. Nurse PEIPER and others had been a great comfort to soldiers who had been laid up by sickness, either from fever or wounds. He could only reiterate his assurance of his pleasure at being present to welcome her back to Invercargill.

The Ven. Archdeacon Stocker said that his son, who had recently returned from South Africa, would have borne testimony to the comfort the nurses were to the soldiers if he had been present that afternoon. They had done their duty not merely in an efficient manner, but with a devotion and ability that had been very striking, under circumstances which often brought much discomfort and privation. He was sure that if any man had won his medals for services at the front, any woman who went through the enteric outbreak deserved something infinitely more than a medal. It was an eternal honour to the nurses, and he congratulated Invercargill on sending such a representative Miss PEIPER. (Applause).

Mr H. McLean, as father of one of the fallen troopers, said that his son had, in some of his letters, referred to the nurses in terms which showed the very highest appreciation of their gentleness and comforting administration to the sick and wounded.

Mr J. Stead replied on behalf of Miss PEIPER, thanked the company for their presence and the great kindness bestowed on her during what must be a short visit here. On arrival at the Bluff that day she had been very pleased to see by the paper which was put into her hand that the medal was to be presented that day. Mr Stead added that the people had not waited till they saw Nurse PEIPER's namee specially mentioned in despatches by Lord Kitchener before it was resolved to present a medal to her — the very fact that she volunteered for service in South Africa was enough to make them feel that something in the way of recognition must be done. Since Nurse PEIPER had left the local hospital great changes had taken place in the staff, there being only two who were there when she left. This must not be taken as an indication of any friction, as he was pleased to say that all the nurses who had left had done so to better themselves, and had been fitted for more responsible duties by the experience gained in the Southland Hospital. Nurse PEIPER did not intend to stay in Invercargill and he was sure that she had the best wishes of everybody of her success wherever she made her home. (Applause.)