Edith Tennent

Edith Penelope Tennent MBE (25 July 1882 – 7 June 1946) was a New Zealand nurse and hospital matron.

[1] Tennent was educated at Miss Hall's Private School in Timaru until 1902, when her parents moved to Marton in the North Island to start a business.

[3] During her tenure, she encouraged nursing staff to undertake postgraduate studies in specialised fields, and to enrol in university courses.

She was also a member of the Dominion Executive of the Registered Nurses' Association from 1937 to 1942, and involved with the New Zealand Red Cross and the Patients' and Prisoners' Aid Society.

[1][5] During World War II Tennent was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the New Zealand Red Cross Voluntary Aids and travelled throughout the country organising and training volunteers, advising on preparations for the establishment of emergency hospitals, and recruiting trained nurses to the organisation.

W J and K J Tennent and children, Timaru, New Zealand, February 1894. Pictured (left to right): Kenard, Kathleen (holding Sybil), Hobart, Edith, William (holding Ida), and Osward