[1][2] She was born in Christchurch on 25 May 1874 to mother Mary Jane Whitto and father, Samuel Wilson who both had died by 1895.

[6] After becoming a registered nurse, Wilson continued working at Wellington Hospital until 1914 when she joined a contingent of New Zealand nurses heading to German occupied Samoa as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force upon the start of World War I.

[7][8] Once returning from Samoa in March 1915, Wilson prepared to set sail with a group of other New Zealand nurses to England in April.

Wilson sailed onboard the SS Rotorua, arriving in Plymouth then traveling to Egypt.

[3] After serving in the Gallipoli campaign, Wilson worked in various military hospitals in England where she became matron.