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 South Melbourne, 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, over 3,000 candidates sit the entrance examination for a total of approximately 960 places.
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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 gain this degree in Victoria.