VPRS 16427 Mothercraft Nurses Register

The Mothercraft Nurses Act 1949 (No. 5413) commenced on 8 November 1949 and established the Mothercraft Nurses Register. Registrations began in January 1951 and a copy of the register was published in the Government Gazette on December 4, 1952. The Maternal and Child Hygiene Branch of the Department of Health was responsible for mothercraft training and registration prior to September 1958 (The Nurses Act 1956 had come into operation on 1 March, 1958), and the Victorian Nursing Council assumed responsibility from this date. The Mothercraft Nurses Act was repealed and the registration of mothercraft nurses was prescribed under the Registered Nurse Division 5 class of the Nurses Act. The registrations included those who had completed study and an examination, and held a certificate of competency as a mothercraft nurse, as well as those who held a certificate of competency as a mothercraft nurse issued before the commencement of the Act by the Department of Health. A special certificate was issued for mothercraft nurses who had undergone a special course of training in the care of pre-school children. These nurses were also recorded in a separate Pre-school Mothercraft register (VPRS 16414).The first 3 units in this series consist of volumes with 'Victorian Nursing Council' printed on the spine. This volume appears to have been put together at a later date and the pages of the register created by the Department of Health (1951-1958) and an earlier register created by the Victorian Nursing Council have been inserted into the volume.The entries are in registration number order and include the following information:* Name in full* Address* Date of birth* Training school* Date of registration* Number of certificate of registration* Qualifications* Remarks