Victorian Order of Nurses in the Yukon

The Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) was established in Canada in 1897 under the leadership of the Governor General`s wife, Lady Ishbel Aberdeen. The Order was created in honour of Queen Victoria’s 60th anniversary. The organization was dedicated to the provision of home care and social services. VON applicants had to be at least 28 years old, unmarried, and graduates of a recognized nursing school.

Four nurses accepted a two-year contract with the VON. They would represent the newly established organization to provide professional medical assistance to the largely underserved population in the Yukon. The VON nurses were: Georgina Powell (Bouctouche, New Brunswick), Amy Scott (immigrant from England), Rachel Hanna (Weymouth, Nova Scotia), and Margaret Payson (Port Carling, Ontario). Georgina Powell, often referred to as Georgia, was the commander of the nurses. 

Lady Aberdeen highlighted the selected VON nurses in the Canadian press and hosted a dinner at Rideau Hall for them before they left for their assignment. They were provided with a special car on the train across Canada from Ottawa to Vancouver. The nurses accompanied the Yukon Field Force (YFF) contingent of 203 military men and their support staff. The Field Force was being sent to the Yukon to support the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) in maintaining law and order in the Yukon.  Having them travel with the YFF would provide safety for the nurses on the trip. The nurses would also be available to provide medical services to soldiers and stampeders along the way. 

In addition to the four VON nurses, two other women passengers participated in the journey. One of the women was “Faith Fenton”, the pseudonym for journalist, Alice Freeman. She documented the trip for The Globe, a Toronto Newspaper. Mrs. Mina Starnes joined the group to meet her husband, Inspector Cortland Starnes, stationed with the NWMP in Dawson. The group left Ottawa on May 6, 1898.

Travellers and their tons of supplies were loaded on the steamboat in Vancouver for the trip to Wrangell, Alaska, in mid-May.  After arriving in Wrangell, passengers and cargo were transferred to the riverboats that would take them up the Stikine River to Glenora, British Columbia. The Stikine Trail, also called the Teslin Trail, had been selected for the delegation to take to the Yukon. One advantage of taking this route was that they would be staying primarily in Canada and would not have to pay duty to the United States government. This route also avoided the difficulties of traversing the rapids in the Whitehorse area. 

From Glenora, near Telegraph Creek, they had hundreds of kilometers to cover to reach their destination of Fort Selkirk. Fort Selkirk had been designated as the headquarters for the Yukon Field Force. The expectation was that this area would be the future center of mining activities and services.

The overland trek of 250 kilometers from Telegraph Creek to Teslin Lake, was not actually a well-developed or established trail. It was a long and difficult overland route. Everyone using this route had to hike through deep mud, muskeg, over mountains, and through forest fires. They also had to cross multiple rivers and streams.  Additional challenges were the excessive heat and insects. The Stikine-Teslin trail was shared with many other travellers on their way to the Klondike, including cattle drives, pack trains, and stampeders. Progress of the group was slowed by the pace of pack animals, especially with the very poor conditions of the trail.

An additional hardship for the nurses was a shortage of horses for their transportation. This resulted in three nurses having to share one old horse so most of the nurses covering the trail by foot. The nurses administered medical treatment for the soldiers and stampeders along the trail. The group arrived in the small settlement of tents and log cabins at the southern end of Teslin Lake in the middle of August. The YFF called this location, Camp Victoria.

Once at Camp Victoria, the group could travel much more easily in quickly-made boats and scows. These crafts carried them the length of Teslin Lake and then into the Yukon River system to Fort Selkirk. The river channels were uncharted, which posed difficulties for them to be safely navigated. The scows and boats were often beached on sand bars. When this happened the men to get into the water and push the boat off the sand. The travellers camped on the shore along the way. They arrived in Fort Selkirk in mid-September: four months after their departure from Ottawa.

After arriving at Fort Selkirk, the soldiers immediately assisted the advance crew in completing the barracks and other buildings and preparing the headquarters for the winter. In Dawson City, the nurses found incomplete medical facilities, a multitude of health issues, and inadequate medical supplies. Illnesses of the miners, soldiers, and civilians included: scurvy, pneumonia, broken bones, frostbite, mining accidents, as well as, a typhoid epidemic. The nurses occasionally travelled to the gold fields to provide direct medical services.

Two of the VON nurses assisted the staff at the Good Samaritan Hospital. This hospital was built by the Presbyterian Church under the direction of missionary, Andrew Shaw Grant. St Mary’s, the other hospital in Dawson City, established by Father Judge, was operated by St. Ann`s Order of Sisters through the Catholic Church. Margaret Payson was matron at the Grand Forks Hospital for a short period of time. 

Although the nurses provided exceptional care in Dawson City, a decision was made by administrators to withdraw the VON contingent from the Yukon in 1899. Georgia Powell remained a VON employee and served in South Africa at the 10th Canadian Field Hospital during the Boer War. She later returned to the Yukon and married Sergeant George Bates (NWMP). Amy Scott returned to England; however, later she nursed again with Georgia in South Africa.

Margaret Payson and Rachel Hanna left the employment of the VON and remained in the North. Margaret held various positions in Dawson City and reportedly married a wealthy miner. Rachael Hanna moved to Atlin, British Columbia. She was matron at St. Andrew’s Hospital, funded by the Presbyterian Church, for 14 years. She later joined the 1st Canadian Contingent in France in 1914.

Alice Freeman continued to publish her observations of Dawson City and area for The Globe. She married Dr. John. N. E. Brown, Medical Officer, in 1900. They left the Yukon in 1904 and remained in Toronto.  Mrs. Starnes remained with her husband while he was posted with the NWMP in Dawson.

The VON nurses who came to Dawson City in 1898 demonstrated courage and perseverance in both the rugged journey to Dawson City and their professional performance under extremely challenging nursing conditions. Their actions provided a model for subsequent colleagues to follow. The Victorian Order of Nurses remains an active, non-profit charitable organization in Canada. It continues to provide home care in the provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia. Its headquarters is in Ottawa.