Melbourne District Nursing Society Appeal fundraising badge : Miss R Cambridge

Circular pressed tin, paper and celluloid badge in red on a grey background, featuring the words 'Melbourne District Nursing Society Appeal' around a central design of a Red Cross. The serial number 17424 appears below this design. A stickpin fitting is attached to the reverse.

Part of a collection of badges which were collected by Miss Ruth Cambridge, daughter of a Boer War veteran, probably Private Owen Cambridge, First Victorian Contingent.

The Melbourne District Nursing Society was formed in 1885 by the Reverend Charles Strong, whose wife was a Nightingale nurse with experience of district nursing in England. A voluntary organisation which relied on charitable subscriptions, its members tended the sick and homebound in inner city Melbourne and districts, often working in conjunction with the Melbourne Ladies' Benevolent Society. By 1894 the Society was offering a home-based midwifery service. Regional branches were formed in the 20 years following 1885.

During the First World War the Society widened its brief to include returned soldiers and actively involved itself in fundraising activities, often closely associated with the Red Cross and local hospitals.