The purpose of the study is to explore past and current professional nursing organisations by means of historical inquiry and to explain the factors that influenced the development of such organisations, as well as the contribution that these organisations made to the professional development of South African nursing in the period between 1914 and 2014. The researcher conducted a literature review and collected data from archival primary and secondary sources. A priori codes provided structure and historical context, yet allowed flexibility. Philosophically critical realism guided the research and enabled the researcher to explain and critique the social world in which South African nursing organisations historically functioned and exerted their professional influence. The findings revealed that in the past one hundred years political, economic and cultural factors present in the social world influenced the nature of South Africa’s professional nursing organisations. Determined to create a female professional image, status and educational exclusivity, South African nursing leaders of the 20th century opted to establish the South African Trained Nurses’ Association (SATNA), a professional nursing association. Influential associations such as SATNA and the South African Nursing Association (SANA) guided the profession to develop a nursing culture based on philosophical and ethical principles of practice. The result was a recognised, respected and trained nursing corps. Over time, however, a social class system, religion, political ideology and nurses’ economic needs reshaped South Africa’s nursing associations and consequently the profession. By the end of the 20th century, South African nursing leaders accepted that nurses needed their socio-economic welfare to be prioritised and therefore the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA), a professional organisation with a trade unionist stance, was established. The result was a trained, politicised, fragmented nursing corps struggling to find its collective professional voice. The greatest legacy bestowed on South African nursing by its first influential organisations is the professional associations evident today. Over time, the South African Nursing Association’s discussion groups that had been established in the 1950s to discuss nursing-related topics evolved into the specialist groups and associations that were present in 2014. / Health Studies / D. Litt et Phil.