240pp., illus., maps, paperback, Pietermaritzburg, 2017
McCord Hospital was founded in 1909 by missionaries Dr James McCord and his wife Margaret, and played a vital role in providing training in professional midwifery and nursing to black South Africans. The hospital was targeted for closure as a ‘black hospital in a white area’ under the Group Areas Act, and was directly attacked by Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd in the 1960s. McCords managed to survive and is currently a provincially-run specialist eye hospital.
Julie Parle is Honorary Professor of History at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Vanessa Noble is a lecturer in Historical Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.