Shona McFarlane
Retirement Village
CARE WHEN YOU NEED IT
Care is not an ‘add on’ at a Ryman village, it is built into the fabric of our villages from the very beginning. It’s comforting for couples and friends to know they can still be near each other even if their health needs are different.
Shona McFarlane care centre offers care options including resthome and hospital care. Like all aspects of our villages, we constantly look for ways to improve both the care we provide and the innovation behind it. Care is customised using our myRyman care app and residents love the food in our seasonal Delicious menu, which is prepared fresh on site by village chefs.
Shona McFarlane is one of over 80 percent of Ryman villages that have been awarded 4-year certification by the Ministry of Health. It’s recognised as the ‘gold star’ standard in care.
That’s why each Ryman village is named after a Kiwi or Aussie trailblazer. Anthony Wilding, Lady Diana Isaac, Evelyn Page to name a few. They lived with passion and purpose, they pushed further, they went beyond the ordinary. That’s exactly what we strive to do every day at Ryman. To pioneer a new way of living, for a new retirement generation.
Shona McFarlane (1929-2001)
An accomplished artist and professional journalist, Shona McFarlane CBE was widely known for her role as a panellist on the long-running TV chat show Beauty and the Beast. Born in Gore and educated in Dunedin at Otago Girls’ High School, she began her career as an art teacher in New Zealand schools in the early 1950s.
McFarlane was a notable campaigner for the preservation of Dunedin’s significant historic buildings in the 1960s, during which time she was President of the Otago Art Society.
Appointed to the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council (predecessor to Creative New Zealand) in 1969, McFarlane was the first woman invited to join. Her confident and enthusiastic character paved the way for other women.
The artist of many paintings, McFarlane found her preferred style in still-life. Her works can be seen in galleries and museums around New Zealand and she published several books featuring her paintings, accompanied by entertaining accounts of her life experiences. In 1994, McFarlane was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her commitment to the nation’s art scene.
Defeating breast cancer inspired her to campaign for increased government funding for the disease’s early detection and intervention. A trailblazing, vivacious artist, her legacy is remembered through the Shona McFarlane Gallery in Dunedin.
Before her death in 2001, the autobiography titled Shona McFarlane: A Memoir was released. It offers a first-hand glimpse into her life.
