We really have a cleric and a doctor to thank for the establishment of St John in New Zealand. At a public meeting in St Mary's Church, Christchurch on April 30, 1885, chaired by the Reverend Thomas Flavell, the local vicor, Dr Walter Hacon urged that the St John Ambulance Association be introduced into the colony.

St John rapidly established itself throughout New Zealand with many of the first branches established in small towns like Hampden, Oamaru and Petone, where existing medical services were scant and the labour intensive workforce was susceptible to serious injury. Ignorance of what to do at accidents led many to support St John in various ways.

It became popular to get involved with St John by raising funds, attending first aid lectures assisting with administration of the organisation - three areas of commitment that remain popular to this day. Many people were keen to sign up for first aid and home nursing lectures, with male and female classes held separately for reasons of modesty. Youngsters were also involved acting as 'models' to practice first aid on. Passing the three examinations conferred a certain status on the student as they won the coveted 'St John medallion' proudly worn by many from their waistcoat watch-chains. First aid was still in its infancy and because it held a novel attraction, newspapers abounded with the reports of successful treatments by first aiders, and lists of proud medallion winners.

In 1892 the Dunedin volunteer fire and ambulance brigade was formed into the first Division in New Zealand of the St John Ambulance Brigade to provide first aid services based on the training received at Association courses. The Brigade was also established to be medical reservists for the armed forces.

The first Nursing Division in New Zealand was established in Dunedin in 1895 - only the second outside the United Kingdom. Nursing Guilds were later established in many centres and provided nursing in homes - an important function as hospitals provided only limited charitable services.

1904 saw the establishment of the Brigade into one New Zealand district, dependent on the Grand Priory in London. By 1905, 21 of the 50 divisions outside of the United Kingdom were in New Zealand. The 1907 Brigade report listed a membership in New Zealand of 1039 in 41 divisions.

During World War One, the Brigade and Association worked in conjunction with the Red Cross Society to form a joint council. This combined organisation raised money for the provision of field ambulances and medical comforts for civilians caught up in the war, and for service men and women including 359 New Zealand St John personnel serving in military forces overseas.

St John formed a Dominion Executive in 1920, which coordinated the work of the Brigade and Association with that of Red Cross. This arrangement was not always harmonious and susceptible to rivalry. Because of the huge amount of work undertaken by St John in New Zealand, the Executive made several submissions to Grand Priory for New Zealand to be raised to the status of a Priory. A request to become a Commandery, made after the Visitation to New Zealand of the Grand Prior's delegate Sir John Hewitt in 1929, was agreed to in 1931.

In the 1920's and 1930's competitiveness in the Brigade ran high and it was common for Brigade members to spend days travelling by train or ship to take part in National Competitions, where with gold or silver medallions and silver trophy cups and shields were at stake. Adult membership in 1930 stood at 1938, with 38,204 treatments and the creation of 21 new divisions. This was also the time of the depression, when money was too scarce to afford doctors, so it was not uncommon for sick and injured people to turn up day and night at the 'Zambuck's' house for wounds to be dressed and cleaned.

St John in New Zealand has always provided patient transport - from the simple two wheeled 'Ashford litter' pushed along the road by four men, and horse drawn carriage ambulances, to the advanced vehicles today equipped with the very latest medical technology. The earliest motorised vehicles were very basic and would have held two stretchers with rubber mattresses, a box of bandages and splints, a bottle of brandy and a bottle of smelling salts! Getting to hospital could be a very arduous affair - one round trip to Mount Cook by the Timaru ambulance in the early 1930s took three days!

While boys and girls had been used as 'models' or 'runners' from the earliest days of St John in New Zealand, youth involvement was formalised with the establishment of the first St John Cadet Division in Wanganui in 1927. The youth curriculum taught first aid and nursing, and others subjects such as camping, homecraft and fire safety, but as war loomed subjects such as aircraft accident and anti-gas drill were added to the curriculum. St John Cadets were enthusiastic to gain the award of the Grand Prior's Badge, the premier award for youth, as the Brigade Annual Report for 1940 reports:

During World War Two, St John adults and Cadets supported the Air Raid Precautions Scheme on the home front, making and rolling bandages and dressings, teaching first aid at mass public classes, and working at medical centres. Many other St John members served overseas with the New Zealand Military Forces.