Bess Hudson

Elizabeth Mary Hudson (28 April 1875 – 7 May 1961) was an early nurse in Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

Hudson worked for Dr Ebenezer Teichelmann (1859–1938), who was also the superintendent of Hokitika Hospital, and so she did relieving shifts there.

She was also required to assist in many procedures in rural areas around the town, when the patient was too unwell to be moved, and was familiar with tonsil removal, lancing of abscesses and amputation of fingers.

As an unofficial district nurse, Hudson mostly travelled by buggy, and became proficient at wound dressing.

[3] Hudson died at Westland Hospital on 7 May 1961, aged 86, and was buried with her parents at Hokitika Cemetery.