Ellen Balaam | |
|---|---|
 in 1915 | |
| Born | Ellen Maud Balaam 30 November 1891 |
| Died | 1985 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Physician |
Ellen Balaam (1891–1985) was an Australian physician and the first woman surgeon in Melbourne.
Ellen Balaam | |
|---|---|
| in 1915 | |
| Born | Ellen Maud Balaam 30 November 1891 |
| Died | 1985 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Physician |
Ellen Balaam (1891–1985) was an Australian physician and the first woman surgeon in Melbourne.
Ellen Maud Balaam was born on 30 November 1891 in Melbourne, Victoria to Harry and Ellen Balaam. [2] Inspired at a young age to pursue a medical career, [3] she attended Melbourne Continuation School (later MacRobertson's Girls High School) from 1906 to 1908 [4] where she won a scholarship at the end of primary school to continue her schooling at high school. She won a further scholarship to attend university, [5] and enrolled in medicine at the University of Melbourne. She taught mathematics at a public school in order to supplement this scholarship. [3] She graduated in 1915 with her M.D., with second class honours in all subjects.
Balaam was appointed to a resident medical officer position at the Melbourne Hospital [6] the following year. She married her classmate, Dr Thomas Wright in 1916, [7] and they both served as medical officers. They went into practice together, [8] before Balaam was appointed to a clinical assistant position at the Queen Victoria Hospital in 1917. She was steadily promoted over the next years to a full-time position and surgeon in 1924. One of the first women to practise general surgery in Melbourne.[ citation needed ] [9] She continued to practise medicine and surgery until 1952, when she retired. Her husband died in 1964. [3]
Balaam died in 1985. [2]
Balaam was a supporter of the Melbourne Continuation School. [4] The Dr Ellen Balaam Award for Promise in Science award is given in her name by the Palladian Society (past pupils) of the School. [10]
The Melbourne Continuation School was Victoria's first state secondary school, established in 1905, from the initiative of Director of Education, Frank Tate. The school was founded on the old National Model School in Spring Street, with principal Joseph Hocking. The opening of the school marked the beginning of secondary state education in Victoria. The school site is now occupied by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school, located in Albert Park, Victoria, Australia. Entry for Mac.Rob, which is operated by the Victorian Department of Education, is by competitive academic examination. It is unique in its status as a statewide provider for girls in Year Nine to Year Twelve. The equivalent for boys is its brother school, Melbourne High School. Each year, up to 8,000 candidates sit the entrance examination for a total of approximately 960 places.
Emma Constance Stone was the first woman to practice medicine in Australia. She played an important role in founding both the Queen Victoria Hospital, and the Victorian Medical Women's Society in Melbourne.
Vera Scantlebury Brown OBE MBBS MD was an Australian medical practitioner and pediatrician in Victoria, Australia.
Susan Lim Mey Lee is a Singaporean surgeon who in 1990 performed the first successful liver transplant in Singapore.
Richard Horace Maconochie Gibbs, a medical student and an Australian rules footballer, played with the Melbourne University Football Club in the Victorian Football League.
Sir Thomas Ernest Victor Hurley, was a surgeon, medical administrator, military officer and an Australian rules footballer who played with University in the Victorian Football League.
Dame Joyce Margaretta Daws DBE FRCS FRACS FAMA was an Australian-based British doctor who specialised in thoracic surgery at various hospitals for over twenty years, primarily in Melbourne. She held the post of Consultant Surgeon of Melbourne.
Joan Janet Brown Refshauge was a New Guinea–based Australian medical practitioner, administrator, and schoolteacher. In 1964, she was honored with the OBE and the Cilento Medal.
Royal Parade is a major urban road in Victoria, Australia, linking Melbourne City to Brunswick and the northern suburbs. It is the site of major educational and sporting facilities as well as several buildings of heritage significance.
Clive Shields was an Australian politician. He was a United Australia Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1932 to 1940, representing the electorate of Castlemaine and Kyneton. He was Assistant Minister in Charge of Sustenance from 1933 to 1935 and briefly Minister for Agriculture in 1935 under Sir Stanley Argyle.
Lorna Lloyd-Green, was an Australian obstetrician-gynecologist and the president of the Medical Women's International Association from 1968 to 1972. She was the first woman to be elected a fellow of the Australian Medical Association. As one of the first women physicians in Melbourne, she advocated for women in medicine throughout her career, and is credited for playing the principal role in achieving equal pay for women physicians in Australia.
Ellen Mary Kent Hughes, was an Australian medical doctor and council alderman. She was the first woman to serve on a local government council in Queensland, serving on the Kingaroy Shire Council from 1923 to 1924.
Myra Ellen Roper (1911–2002) was a British-born Australian educationalist, author, broadcaster, and expert on China. She was principal of University Women's College, at the University of Melbourne from 1947 to 1960.
Mary Glowrey JMJ, religious name Mary of the Sacred Heart, (1887–1957) was an Australian born religious sister and educated doctor who spent 37 years in India, where she set up healthcare facilities, services and systems. She is believed to be the first religious sister to practise as a doctor. The Catholic Church is investigating her cause for beatification and declared her a Servant of God in 2013.
Polly Hurry, was an Australian painter. She was a founding member of the Australian Tonalist movement and part of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society.
Robert Fowler was an Australian surgeon and soldier.
Lorna Verdun Sisely, MBBS, MS, FRACS, FACS, CM was a surgeon from Victoria, Australia. She was the founder and the consultant surgeon of the Queen Victoria Medical Centre Breast Clinic, the first of its kind in Victoria. She was admitted as a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1947. She was the first woman to do this by passing the RACS Fellowship Examination. She was awarded an OBE in 1980 in recognition of her service to medicine.
Girlie George Chapple Hodges MBBS, MS was a surgeon from Melbourne, who was selected to play on the Australia women's national field hockey team during the 1920s and 1930s. She also played on the varsity and state levels, and was known as being fast and reliable on the wing. Hodges attended Melbourne University medical school, gaining her MBBS in 1931, and working at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Royal Children's Hospital, and the Queen Victoria Hospital as a medical doctor and surgical assistant. In 1939, she graduated with a Master of Surgery. She was the first woman to gain this degree in Victoria.