Topic: Flora Blanche Twist
Topic type:
Born 1901 near Bulls, Lived in Rotorua from 1928 to 1979
Flora came to the Rotorua District in 1928 with her family who settled on a parcel of land on Waikaukau Road, Ngakuru. Later a road in Ngakuru was named after Harry Twist (her father) and is still called Twist Road today.(2012)
Flora was a nurse who was a qualified midwife and worked for the Rotorua Hospital, but also on one occasion delivered a baby at the farm (Roundhill) in the middle of a thunderstorm when the neighbour's wife went into labour and could not get to town. There is no record of any other baby being born in Ngakuru in the years following.
Later she left the Rotorua Hospital to go and work in the 2nd Rotorua Santatorium on Hinemaru Street. She worked there up until it was sold and became an Old Folks home (Gardenholme) after the Second World War c1949. After leaving the 'San' she became a practice nurse for a General Practitioner called Dr. Jack Doyle, and remained working with him until she retired.
Flora and her sister Constance used to ride into town every Sunday from Ngakuru for Church, they were founding members of the Brethren Assembly who met in a hall on Ranolf Street. This church was later to be spilt into two separate fellowships, one in the Fenton Park area (now called Fenton Park Bible Church) the other one in the Western Heights area on Roosevelt Road, (now called Roosevelt Road Bible Church)
Flora's parents names were Harry Twist (d14/2/1951) & Edith Annie Twist (d22/10/1950) who later retired from the farm, leaving it in the hands of their youngest (Noel Twist), to a property in Larch Street (although it was known Pretoria Street West until 1957) then bought a larger piece of land on Lake Road, now the site of the Cleveland Motel the old homestead was still on the property in the early 1970s. When the Lake Road property sold, to the first owners of the Cleveland, she bought a house on Fenton Street, No. 355 which is now a tennis court for the motel that owns the site. Later she moved to Reeve Road and owned flats there living in one and letting the other. She soon tired of being a land lady and sold this property moving to a small flat at 14 Malfroy Road and resided there until her death in 1979.
A story she once told was of a patient arriving at the 'San' on crutches only to be met by Sister Budd's dog, whereupon he yelled out "Sister, sister save me the dog is going to eat me' Apparently Sister Budd brought her dog (a large breed, not sure which) to work with her every day and it stayed on the verandah all day waiting and 'guarding' Sister Budd.
