South Australia - Women
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Nursing and Female Doctors
Also see Adelaide - Hospitals
Women as Nurses and Medical Practitioners
By the end of the 1870s a debate of some twenty-five years standing was still under way in respect of woman's fitness and unfitness for certain spheres of labour. The conservative forces of the day maintained that what she had been in the habit of doing during ages of primitive barbarism and centuries of semi-civilisation was still fit for her to undertake - but no more. However, one of the avocations which had been peacefully assigned to women, was the care of the sick.
But the matter of admission of women to the study and practice of medicine was a different matter; while they were permitted to make poultices and bandages, to keep watch and ward through the weary midnight hours, to attend on men through the delirium of fever, and to prepare palatable food to tempt the appetite of weary convalescents the question of women studying to become qualified legally to write prescriptions for pills and potions was, indeed, a wholly different matter.
The objections raised by those who were averse to women entering the medical profession lacked neither number or variety. There was the first oft-repeated one that a woman's proper sphere was the domestic circle and the duties that devolved on her therein.
So much stress was laid on this point that one might have imagined the domestic hearth as being left desolate; but the fact that there was an increasingly large number of women, who remained unmarried, could not be traced to the removal of disabilities to their entering on lucrative spheres of labour. I cannot but perceive how inevitable it was that new fields of work and mental activity should be won for women. The triumphs she won in this field are as marked as those which she is now every day achieving in the modern but no less useful avocation of nurse.
In England, when the question of the admission of women to full membership of the British Medical Association was put to the vote in 1878, the majority was against the concession. Before any colonial branch could admit female members it was necessary to obtain permission from the parent association and in South Australia strong pressure was brought to bear in order to get a reversal of the decision.
Early in 1892 Dr Laura Fowler applied for membership when the Honorary Secretary of the South Australian Branch, Dr Lendon, 'strongly urged upon the attention of all members the very inconsistent course which was being adopted in refusing to allow to women the privileges and advantages of being recognised by the Association...' Circulars were sent out to the members which resulted in forty-six out of seventy-five votes recorded being in favour of the proposed reform. Meanwhile the Victorian branch had taken a similar step and had forwarded a request to England and, eventually, the home authority acceded to the colonial request.
In 1883 Mrs Annie J. Chambers was appointed public vaccinator at Morgan - the first medical appointment conferred on any woman in South Australia. The editor of an Adelaide newspaper said it was an indication of that world-wide movement which had for its object a readjustment of occupations as between man and woman and concluded by quoting some lines Tennyson put into the mouth of one of his female characters:
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Oh I wish
I were some great princess! I would build,
Far off from men, a college like a man's,
And I would teach them all that men are taught-
We are twice as quick.
He then proceeded to enter a plea for the acceptance of women into the higher realms of learning:
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The old mode of regarding women as very much the inferior of man in intellectual
disputes has given place, not without struggles, to a more rational attitude...
Women are fit for something more than counting buttons, measuring tape, selling
small quantities of sugar and tea, minding babies, or acting as hewers of wood
and drawers of water, and the increasing recognition of this is one of the
chief social features of this century...
[Their] capacity for business and shrewdness of observation which they display after short training, warrants the prediction that this part of our social economy will gradually be handed over to women to a far greater extent than at present. These are, however, but additional signs that the world in its need is turning to women, and that to 'sit and darn and fatten household sinners' is not her only mission.
The District Nurses
(Taken from Geoffrey H. Manning, A Colonial Experience)
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The district trained nursing movement was started in [Adelaide] by the late Rev Joseph Berry at the Pirie Street Methodist Church and Miss Aitken worked in the cause for five years...
(Advertiser, 9 December 1909, p. 12.)
An Historical Background
The evolution of sick nursing was due to three diverse influences, namely, religion, war and science. Some form of sick nursing was in vogue before Christianity; but it was due to this faith that a system of trained nursing was instituted. In 380 AD a Christian lady in Rome named Falula set up a hospital and convalescent home in that city and devoted her fortune to the sick poor.
The deacons of the Christian church did what they could, but no systematic nursing was accomplished until the end of the fourth century. In the year 420 there were 600 women nurses in the hospitals of Alexandria and in humane societies. Monks and nuns took great interest in the work and, in London, they founded St Thomas's and St Bartholomew's which indicated their religious origin. The nurses were called sisters which showed a religious association with the work.
From the beginning of the fifth century to the reign of Henry VIII the nursing in England was in the hands of the monastic orders. Then occurred the destruction of the monasteries and nursing came to be looked on as a menial office and was surrendered to women of lower order, without training or skill. This continued until the middle of the nineteenth century, when there began a new movement, the chief characteristic of which was the system and training of nurses; the credit for this is due to the Germans.
Again religious influences came into play. It was in a German institution that Florence Nightingale was trained and the sentimental part of her work in the Crimean War arrested popular attention and had the effect of elevating the whole course of nursing. The fervour of earlier centuries was renewed and other ladies came forward, so that a wonderful stimulus was given to the work. In 1858, in Liverpool, the first District Trained Nursing Society commenced work.
Thus, the trained nurse is a product of modern times. She is the result of the advanced knowledge of our day applied to an occupation that was, for ages, left for the most part in the hands of the uneducated and badly informed woman. The origin of diseases and the best hygienic means to combat them have both had light thrown upon them and we, today, enjoy a knowledge on these subjects in advance of any preceding generation.
All classes of the community need the practical application of this knowledge, but in an especial degree do the sick poor need it, and it is to spread in the homeliest and most effective way this knowledge that a district nursing society was established. The services of a trained nurse undoubtedly helps to lessen poverty for her work conserves the domestic resources of the family when sickness exists.
The Beginning in Adelaide
Prior to delivering a sermon at the Pirie Street Methodist Church in August 1893 the Reverend J. Berry informed the congregation that a nursing sister for the poor had been engaged and had commenced work and a post card addressed to 'The Nursing Sister, Pirie Street Church' would secure her services. Twelve months later he reported that 1,645 visits had been made and 152 patients nursed and that he had been informed that a nursing association was to be formed to do the same sort of work on a larger scale.
This association was formed on 12 July 1894 at a meeting held in the Church Office in Leigh Street, where those assembled were informed that a pilot scheme had been implemented at Bowden in 1893 under the direction of Miss Edith Noble, complemented by the nursing skills of Miss McLellan. This service had commenced on 4 July 1893 and, in twelve months, 49 patients were attended to, including 30 patients suffering from typhoid fever.
General Notes
"Hospital Nursing" is in the Register,29 January 1874, page 5a.
"Nurses for the Sick Poor" is in the Observer,
8 April 1876, page 13f.
"Women as Nurses and Medical Practitioners" is in the Register,
10 November 1879, page 4c; also see
12 November 1879 (supp.), page 1f,
30 August 1892, page 4h.
"Trained Nurses" is in the Register,
9 June 1880, page 5a.
A lecture on midwifery appears in the Register,
6 May 1881, page 5c,
"The Last of the Midwives" on
4 and 5 June 1925, pages 8d and 14a.
"Additional Occupations for Women" is in the Observer, 3 November 1883, page 24e:
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The old mode of regarding women as very much the inferior of man in intellectual disputes has given place, not without struggles, to a more rational attitude... Women are fit for something more than counting buttons, measuring tape, selling small quantities of sugar and tea, minding babies, or acting as hewers of wood and drawers of water, and the increasing recognition of this is one of the chief social features of this century...
[Their] capacity for business and shrewdness of observation which they display after short training, warrants the prediction that this part of our social economy will gradually be handed over to women to a far greater extent than at present. These are, however, but additional signs that the world in its need is turning to women, and that to 'sit and darn and fatten household sinners' is not her only mission.
"Trained Female Nurses" is in the Register,
7 November 1887, page 4g,
"Women Doctors" on
11 April 1898, page 4c:
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In the opinion of shrewd observers, women doctors, while they may do invaluable work, will probably never become formidable rivals of men. Singularly, the woman practitioner has not become popular with the woman patient, who prefers the man doctor, because, it is affirmed, of the mesmerism which the one sex consciously or unconsciously exercises upon the opposite.
(Also see Register, 4 November 1919, page 6f.)
A lecture on nursing is reproduced in the Register,
5 August 1893, page 7c.
"Pirie Street Nursing Sister" is in the Register,
14 August 1893, page 3d,
1 March 1894, page 5c;
also see 28 August 1896, page 3g, 6 and 7 August 1897, pages 7b and 6f.
An informative article headed "The Pirie Street Nursing Sister" is in the Express,
27 August 1894, page 3f,
28 August 1896, page 2g,
6 August 1897, page 2d,
Observer,
13 August 1898, page 29a,
"An Angel of the Poor" on
29 July 1899, page 45a,
"The Nurses Collection" on the streets of Adelaide on
30 December 1899, page 32b.
Information on the Pirie Street Nursing Sisters' Association is in the Advertiser,
11 and 12 August 1898, pages 6h and 6d.
The same newspaper on
9 December 1909, page 12e says, inter alia:
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The district trained nursing movement was started in [Adelaide] by the late Rev Joseph Berry at the Pirie Street Methodist Church and Miss Aitken worked in the cause for five years...
A proposal for "trained nursing for the poor" is discussed in the Express,
13 July 1894, page 3d.
A meeting of district trained nurses is reported in the Register,
1 September 1894, page 7d.
"Scientific Nursing for the Poor" is in theRegister,
10 September 1894, page 4e;
also see 1 August 1896, page 4h.
The first Annual General Meeting of the District Trained Nurses Society is reported in the Register,
27 July 1895, page 3g,
Advertiser,
27 July 1895, page 7g;
also see Register,
10 February 1896, page 6d,
22 and 23 July 1898, pages 5i and 6c,
5 November 1898, page 7f,
Express,
12 August 1897, page 3c,
Register,
29 July 1905, page 8h,
28 July 1906, page 8h,
Advertiser,
24 July 1909, page 11e,
Register,
23 August 1913, page 11f.
"A New Function for a Trained Nurse" is in the Observer,
18 September 1897, page 28b.
"An Angel of the Poor" is in the Register,
22 and 27 July 1899, pages 6e and 4e-4g,
Observer,
29 July 1899, page 45b.
"The Trained Nurse as a Sanitary Inspector" is in the Register,
13 December 1899, page 4g.
"Nursing for the Poor" is in the Advertiser,
25 July 1898, page 4d;
also see 24 July 1902, page 4d for editorial comment.
A photograph of district nurses is in theObserver,
6 June 1903, page 24.
Information on district nurses is in the Register,
23, 24 and 25 July 1902, pages 5a, 3h and 4h.
"A Ministering Angel" is in the Register,
25 May 1903, page 5b.
"Remember the Nurses" is in the Register,
28 May 1903, page 4g,
"Nursing in Adelaide" on 8 July 1903, page 4h.
Information on the Australasian Trained Nurses' Association is in the Register,
18 August 1905, page 4g.
Information on the District Trained Nurses' Society is in the Register,
21 June 1905, page 6h.
"Nurses' Associations" is in the Advertiser,
7 November 1906, page 11c,
"Rival Nurses Associations" on 19 and 25 November 1909, pages 8d and 11b.
Information on district nurses is in the Register,
29 and 30 July 1904, pages 4d-f and 4g.
An article on a "District Trained Nurse" is in the Register,
26 July 1907, page 4i;
also see 5 August 1907, page 4b.
"District Nursing - Lady Dudley's Scheme" is in the Observer,
30 July 1910, page 41a, 6 August 1910, page 45a.
"Appeal to the Government" is in the Express,
19 May 1911, page 2g.
"District Nursing in Central Australia" is in the Observer,
9 February 1924, page 51a.
"The City Trained Nurse" is in the Express,
14 January 1902, page 2c.
A photograph of a District Trained Nurses' ball in the Town Hall is in the Chronicle,
5 July 1902, page 40,
29 June 1912, page 30,
of a fete at Glenelg on
7 November 1925, page 42; also see
Observer,
6 June 1903, page 24,
3 October 1914, page 28.
A nurses' ball is reported upon in the Express,
8 July 1903, page 4d.
"Nursing" is in the Register,
23 March 1905, page 4c.
Photographs of a street collection in aid of the society are in the Observer,
21 October 1905, page 27.
"Working Hours of Nurses" is in the Express,
27 October 1905, page 2c.
"Nurses' Associations" is in the Advertiser,
7 November 1906, page 11c,
"Rival Nurses Associations" on
19 and 25 November 1909, pages 8d and 11b.
An article on a "District Trained Nurse" is in the Register,
26 July 1907, page 4i.
"Appeal to the Government" is in the Express,
19 May 1911, page 2g.
A proposed Australian Trained Nurses' Association is discussed in the Register,
28 June 1906, page 7i, 2 July 1906, page 4f.
"Raising the Nursing Standard" is in the Register,
28 October 1908, page 9c.
A photograph of a nurses invalid cooking class at the School of Mines is in the Chronicle,
24 July 1909, page 32.
A Nursing Bill is discussed in the Register,
14 and 19 October 1909, pages 4d and 4i.
"Bush Nursing" is in the Observer,
18 and 25 June 1910, pages 23a and 43a,
Register,
7, 15, 21 and 22 July 1910, pages 5b, 3g, 7b and 6c,
2 August 1910, page 6e.
An obituary of Mrs Martha Riddell (DTNS) is in the Observer,
12 February 1910, page 40a,
of Nurse Kitty Nation on 17 February 1912, page 39c,
of Nurse Day on 25 January 1913, page 41a,
of Miss Nan Murphy on 26 November 1927, page 50b.
"Watchers by the Sick - The Work of District Trained Nurses" is in the Register,
27 July 1911, page 8c,
19 August 1925, page 15b,
"Nursing the Sick - Work of the DTNS" on
16 August 1923, page 11g,
"District Trained Nurse Society - Thirty Years Useful Service" on
21 August 1924, page 10a.
"Nursing Fees" is in the Register,
1 May 1914, page 6c.
A photograph of city and suburban staff of the District Trained Nurses' Society is in The Critic,
22 August 1923, page 11.
"District Nursing in Central Australia" is in the Register,
5 February 1924, page 6d,
15 March 1924, page 8d.
"District Nurse on Her Rounds" is in The News,
10 December 1924, page 10c.
The resignation of Dr A.A. Lendon as President of the society is reported in the Advertiser,
4 March 1929, page 16c.
A report on the inaugural meeting of the SA Branch of the Royal British Nurses' Association is in the Express,
10 August 1900, page 2b; also see
Advertiser,
14 June 1904, page 4c
3 February 1905, page 7f,
27 September 1912, page 9a
"Nursing" is in the Register,
23 March 1905, page 4c,
"The Modern Nurse - Experience in a Private Hospital" on
19 June 1905, page 7f.
A meeting called with a view to establish an Australian Trained Nurses Association is reported in the Register,
28 June 1906, page 7i,
"Nurses" on
15 October 1909, page 4d.
The opening of the Trained Nurses' Home is reported in the Advertiser,
29 April 1909, page 9e.
"Medical Education of Women" is in the Chronicle,
5 February 1887, page 16c,
"Women Doctors" in the Observer,
16 April 1898, page 41b,
Express,
23 June 1898, page 2d.
"Women in the Medical Profession" is in the Register,
30 August 1892, page 4h.
The removal of female medical students to Melbourne is discussed in the Observer,
30 January 1897, page 28b;
also see 12 November 1898, page 27e.
"The ANA and Women Doctors" is in the Register,
29 August 1903, page 4d,
"Women Doctors" on
15 February 1906, page 4d-i,
9 October 1923, page 5e,
8 January 1929, page 11b.
"Lady Doctors and Hospitals" is in the Express,
8 March 1906, page 3f.
Information on Dr Eulalie Dawson is in the Observer,
14 September 1907, page 40c.
"Medical Scholarship for Women" is in the Advertiser,
27 January 1926, page 8f,
"Medical Training of Women" in The News,
5 April 1928, page 6c.
"Adelaide's Pioneer Woman Doctor, Dr Violet Plummer" is in the Observer,
7 September 1929, page 52c.
The Modern Nurse" is in the Register,
19 June 1905, page 7f.
"Raising the Nursing Standard" is in the Register,
28 October 1908, page 9c; also see
Advertiser,
16 November 1906, page 4b.
The hours of work undertaken by nurses is commented upon in the Advertiser,
24 July 1909, page 8h.
"The Jubilee Congress" of the trained nurses' society is reported upon in the Register,
10 February 1910, page 7a.
"Bush Nursing" is in the Advertiser,
7 June 1910, page 6c,
Register,
16 and 30 June 1910, pages 7f and 8f,
5 and 7 July 1910, pages 6c and 5b,
15 July 1910, page 3g,
Advertiser,
21 and 22 July 1910, pages 9i and 8b,
Register,
2 August 1910, page 10c,
7 September 1910, page 7b,
16 March 1911, page 9c.
"Nursing Fees" in private homes is discussed in the Register,
1 May 1914, page 6c,
"Nursing" on
12 and 13 April 1920, pages 6d and 8e,
12 May 1920, page 6f,
"Registration of Nurses" on
20 November 1920, page 8d.
An editorial on women in the medical profession is in the Advertiser,
2 March 1912, page 18f under "A Pioneer".
"Better Treatment for Nurses" is in the Observer,
16 June 1917, page 20e.
"Registration of Nurses" is in the Register,
20 November 1920, page 8d.
"The Nursing Profession" is in the Advertiser,
13 June 1922, page 9d.
"The District Nurse - Work Throughout the State" is in The Mail,
13 January 1923, page 18d.
"Lost Glamor of Nursing" is in The Mail,
29 November 1924, page 1a.
"Forty-Two Years Nursing", the reminiscences of Sister Madigan, is in The Mail,
6 December 1924, page 11e.
"Training of Nurses" is in The News,
30 June 1926, page 5d,
"Reform in Dress" on
1 February 1927, page 5a.
"Nurses and Nursing - Some Practical Problems" is in the Register,
18 January 1927, page 3d.
"Modern Mothercraft - A Talk With Sister D. Beaumont" is in the Observer,
31 March 1928, page 61a.
"Teaching Mothercraft to Mothers" is in the Advertiser,
13 October 1937, page 8c.
"Nursing Forty Years Ago" is in the Observer,
16 January 1926, page 54a.
"Home Nursing Classes" is in The News,
28 July 1927, page 8c.
An obituary of Miss Nan Murphy, a district nurse, is in the Register,
21 November 1927, page 12a.
Information on the District Trained Nursing Society is in the Advertiser,
4 March 1929, page 16c,
The Mail,
9 May 1931, page 12e,
19 August 1933, page 13.
Also see Adelaide - Social Matters for references to "District Nursing".
"Hospital Miracle Workers" is in The News,
25 July 1931, page 4d.
"Nurse Looks at Training" is in the Advertiser,
16 April 1932, page 9c,
"Waiting to be Nurses" on
27 July 1932, page 9g,
"Century of Nursing" on
25 September 1934, page 24d,
"Hospital Nurses" on
18 November 1936, page 22d.
"One Hundred Years of Nursing" on 11 August 1937, page 8f,
8 September 1937, page 10c.
"That New Exam for Would-Be Nurses" is in The News,
10 August 1932, page 4e.
"Women Dentists" is in The News,
23 December 1926, page 16d.
