This biography was collated by Rennae Taylor and is based on an interview conducted by Professor Cindy Farquhar with Margaret Saunders’ daughter, Chrissie Kershaw, in 2024 and other information provided by the family. Secondary sources are listed in the bibliography. All photos were supplied by the family.
Contents
Class of 1947
Family and early education
Nancy ‘Margaret’ Salmond was born in Picton to Isabel Anne (née McLeod) and Kenneth Guthrie Salmond on 11 March 1923. She was joined by her brother Robert John in 1927. (1) He eventually became a farmer with a farm near Taumaranui. (1)
Her mother grew up in the Hawke’s Bay area and worked there after graduating as a nurse. Her father was the son of Sir John Salmond, a supreme court judge. Kenneth graduated from Otago with his MB ChB in 1920 and started practicing in Picton.
Isabel moved to Picton after receiving a letter from her aunt suggesting she should come there to work as the medical superintendent was a very eligible bachelor. They were married in Napier on 28 April 1922 and lived in Picton until moving to Feilding where he practiced from 1924 to 1949. (2) Her parents divorced in the late 1940s and her father then moved to Tauranga to practice medicine. (3)
For her primary schooling, Margaret attended two local schools: Miss Baine’s school followed by Cheltenham School. Margaret used to ride her horse to school and was expelled by Miss Baine for riding her horse into the classroom. For her secondary education she was a boarder at Woodford House, a girls’ high school in Havelock North in the Hawke’s Bay. Her daughter said these were not the happiest years of her life. Even at this age she was determined to go to medical school which her parents were supportive of.
University Education and House Surgeon Years
Margaret went to Victoria University, Wellington for her Medical Intermediate in 1942 and was successful in being accepted to Otago Medical School in 1943. She passed each year and obtained her MB ChB in 1947. Her daughter thinks she boarded at St Margaret’s College for most of these Otago years and made many friends including dating several medical students. Her nickname during her university years was ‘Fish’.
Her parents supported her financially, but she also had to work during the holidays. A couple of her jobs were at the Cadbury Chocolate Factory and waitressing at Anakiwa Lodge, now Outward Bound. Travelling from Feilding to Dunedin took one and a half days; this involved the train to Wellington, the ferry to Lyttleton, and the train to Dunedin.
Margaret did her house surgeon years at Wellington Hospital, and it was here she met her future husband, John Hutchinson Saunders on the steps of the hospital. He had graduated from Otago in the class of 1943.
Overseas and early career
John went to the London, England to complete his training to become an orthopaedic surgeon and achieved his FRCS Eng. in 1949 and his FRACS in 1958. (3) Margaret followed him to London in early 1949 and initially worked at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, London and supported John.
Food was still in short supply following World War II and her mother used to send her food parcels. In a July 1949 letter she was living at 32 Mansel St, London, working as a locum senior anaesthetist at Paddington and was engaged but it had not been formally announced. They were married on 1 April 1950 in Chiswick, London.
Their firstborn Barbara was born 16 months later. They returned to NZ by boat in 1952 when Barbara was nine months old. Two further children, Christine (1953) and John (1960), were born back in NZ. Once the first two children were at school, Margaret worked part-time at Hutt Hospital as an anaesthetist.
Later career and other interests
Margaret continued working part-time at the Hutt Hospital until 1982 and the family continued to live in this area. She had no formal training in anaesthetics. It was not required until the 1960s. Her daughter said she had several female colleagues who also worked in anaesthetics during these years as it was easy to work around the needs of a growing family.
Her daughter remembers their mother being at home by the time they returned from school. She had home help but sometimes life became stressful as most mothers did not work during this era. John mostly worked at Wellington Hospital and the private hospitals of Bowen and Calvary.
Early in his practice he had his rooms at the family home but later was based in Kelvin Chambers, Wellington. After Margaret retired in 1982, she would occasionally work as John’s surgical assistant when he would do hip replacements. The children recall taking phone calls for their parents detailing the following day’s surgical list. It was not unheard of for neighbours to request assistance on medical matters.
The family had a holiday home at Paraparaumu and Margaret enjoyed several sports including tennis, golf and skiing; she played a lot of bridge and loved her dogs. Her daughter said she made an honest attempt at spinning, knitting and sketching and was an innovative cook.
She was one of the original 1967 trustees on the Laura Fergusson Trust, set up to assist disabled persons in the solution to their residential problems. In her retirement she spent a lot of time on philanthropic work for the Trust and was awarded the QSM.
Both Margaret and John developed dementia. He died in 2002 and at some time following his death she moved to Sprott House residential aged care home in Karori and died on 17 April 2013 at the age of 90 years.
Her daughter said her mother had great compassion and understanding, was strong-willed and didn’t suffer fools gladly. She was not afraid to broach taboo subjects. Her wisdom helped many people with their life problems, big or small.
Bibliography
- Wellington: NZ Government Internal Affairs; [28.05.2025]. Available from: https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
- Personal News. Wairarapa Age. 1922 29.04.1922. Available from: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WAG19220429.2.3.1
- Wright-St Clair RE. “Historia Nunc Vivat”: Medical Practioners in New Zealand 1840 to 1930. Christchurch: Cotter Medical History Trust; 2013.
