140 years from the day members of the Melbourne District Nursing Society (MDNS) first met, Australia’s largest independent Not For Profit, now known as Bolton Clarke, is celebrating the group's evolution over the course of its history.
MDNS began as a single nurse on foot, bringing relief to Melbournites facing the typhoid epidemic. Eventually, more nurses were employed and bicycles used for transport.
In its early days, Dame Nellie Melba, a staunch advocate of community nursing, performed at fundraisers, and a former Prime Minister’s Wife, Pattie Deakin, volunteered and helped with care.
Today the group has more than 16,000 staff supporting 130,000 Australians.
Group CEO Stephen Muggleton, who in December announced he will retire in 2025, said the organisation has evolved and expanded to meet Australians’ changing needs.
“Our teams have worked through the Great Depression and two world wars and have successfully managed outbreaks of SARS, HIV/AIDS, MERS, Swine Flu and Zika while dealing with a rapidly increasing number of natural disasters and weather events, from bushfires to floods and cyclones," he said.
“What started in 1885 with a single nurse has become so much more thanks to the generosity, kindness and determination of the people who have shaped Bolton Clarke.
“Then and now, we celebrate the teams who have provided care in extraordinary circumstances and who continue to make a difference every day for our clients and residents.”
Bolton Clarke continues to evolve. In September last year, the group acquired RCA Villages' Martha Bay, Casey Grange, Martha Cove and Armstrong Green retirement villages in Victoria, adding to their Europa on Alma and Callisto Place villages on the Mornington and Bellarine Peninsulas, establishing a Victorian retirement village cluster supported by connected care options.
