Five-pointed gilt-edged star, the point downwards, with eyelet for mounting; the face with a gilt-edged circular central white enamel medallion bearing a gilt-edged red enamel Geneva cross, the arms of the star red-enamel edged with gilt-edged deep blue enamel panels; the reverse plain with the engraved attribution ‘S117707 / T. KARAITIANA’; slight loss of red enamel from some of the star tips, some ‘hairs’, small loss of blue enamel from the suspension bar to the left of the ‘R’ and minor contact marks; on original suspension bar, the face with the gilt letters ‘NZRN’ (New Zealand Registered Nurse), the reverse plain with pin for wear; diameter 33.75mm (1.33 inches). The Nurses’ Registration Act was introduced in New Zealand on 12 September 1901. Nurses qualified for registration were awarded the New Zealand Registered Nurses’ Qualification Badge, sometimes known as the New Zealand Registered Nurses Medal. Nurses were required to be at least twenty-three years of age, to have had three years’ training as a nurse in a hospital and to have passed a State Examination. A good relatively early example.
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