The Venerable Order of Hato Hone St John

The late 19th century posed considerable challenges for the British Colony of New Zealand in terms of basic healthcare and especially emergency care for its volunteer militias and military forces. In response to a request from the Lyttelton Naval Artillery Volunteers in September 1883, Drs Hacon and Robinson from Ōtautahi Christchurch, in collaboration with Dr Tweed from Ōhinehou Lyttelton, presented their first lecture on ambulance drill kits in the Lyttelton drill hall. The instruction was well received by the Lyttelton Navals, who paraded with officially sanctioned Geneva crosses and requisite medical equipment such as stretchers, bandages, and splints. The Lyttelton Navals would go on to distinguish themselves in future military parades with respect to their well-equipped and staffed ‘ambulance waggon’.

Dr Walter Hacon, a distinguished honorary member of the United Kingdom’s St John Ambulance Association, had a seminal role in pioneering ambulance work in New Zealand, having instructed the North Island’s Armed Constabulary as early as 1881. This military role established St John's reputation as a provider of medical services, which were soon to be extended to the wider civilian population. A formative public gathering on 30 April 1885 at the Merivale school room in Christchurch, led by Reverend Thomas Flavell and Dr Hacon, established New Zealand’s first St John Association – the Canterbury New Zealand Branch of the St John Ambulance Association.

The Association immediately took on an active educational role. A series of six lectures was organised, with Dr Chapman of Lyttelton appointed as Honorary Medical Examiner in May 1885, inspiring all members to seek further medical knowledge through examination. Volunteering emerged as an essential component of the colonial era organisation, with a particular emphasis on acquiring first aid skills and the coveted 'St John medallion'. In August 1885, the Association decided to start a branch in Lyttelton. The formal establishment occurred the following month of September, with an inaugural meeting at Ōhinehou Lyttelton’s Colonists’ Hall.

In February 1888, the St John Ambulance Society New Zealand began to supervise and systematise the registration of professional nurses, adding another layer to the organisation’s growing contributions to Aotearoa New Zealand’s health infrastructure. The Ōtepoti Dunedin branch formed the first St John Ambulance Brigade in 1892, closely followed by its launch of the inaugural St John Nursing Division in 1895. By 1905, after just 20 years, New Zealand was home to nearly half of all St John divisions in the British Commonwealth outside the UK.

A key part of St John’s services revolved around the development of patient transport. The Association’s first purpose-built ambulance vehicle, the Ashford litter, was developed in the UK and introduced to New Zealand in January 1886. A light two-wheeled hand drawn cart, the Ashford litter revolutionised patient transport, enabling easy manoeuvrability and conversion into a hand litter. This conveyance would later be complemented by purpose-built, horse-drawn ambulances for the St John Ambulance Brigades that formed around the country in the 1890s and early 1900s, with the Christchurch branch receiving theirs in February 1895.

The 1918 influenza pandemic would accelerate the use of motorised ambulance transports of many makes and models, with the last horse-drawn ambulances being replaced by motorised ambulances in the early 1920s. By the late 1940s, New Zealand ambulance design was being modernised with Te Waipounamu South Island-built Mercury ambulances in wide use from Auckland to Dunedin, including Lyttelton’s own No. 3 St John ambulance purchased in 1949. These vehicles featured a unique V-shaped ‘sagging’ chassis for ease of patient loading.

During the trials of World War II, St John volunteers from New Zealand played a pivotal role, both domestically within the Air Raid Precautions Scheme and abroad as medics with the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Post-war, the Association continued to evolve, establishing mobile clinics, optimising blood collection services and, in 1946, gaining status as a Priory, enhancing its autonomy and influence. A significant transformation occurred in the 1970s with a move towards formal medical qualifications for ambulance personnel, superseding the era of basic first aid provision in ambulance services. In 1975, New Zealand’s first Telethon raised over $500,000 for a national ambulance training centre. In that very same year, St John ambulances travelled over 4.5 million km, assisted by 1,120 personnel, while serving 251,000 patients.

From its humble British colonial beginnings almost 140 years ago in Waitaha Canterbury, the Venerable Order of Hato Hone St John has evolved to become a cornerstone of Aotearoa New Zealand's civil healthcare infrastructure, underpinning the nation's emergency medical services.

See also https://www.stjohn.org.nz/ & https://www.facebook.com/stjohnakaroaandbays/