Kate Mackay

Last updated • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Kate Mackay OBE (29 April 1897 – 1 September 1983) was an Australian physician and public servant. She was the first female medical inspector in the Victorian Department of Labour and was later a consultant physician to the Queen Victoria Hospital, Melbourne.

Life and career

Mackay was born in 1897 in Bendigo, Victoria. Following an education at Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne, she attended the University of Melbourne, earning her M.B.B.S. in 1922 and M.D. in 1924. She was a resident medical officer at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Royal Women's Hospital, and the Royal Children's Hospital. She joined the Victorian Department of Labour in 1925 as the first female medical inspector of factories and shops. She was particularly interested in the wellbeing of women in the workplace, and she visited the United States as part of an industrial delegation in 1927 to observe women's working conditions. She later led an inquiry into women's work in Victoria, and shared her findings via radio talks and lectures. [1] She resigned from the Department of Labour in 1933. [2]

Mackay was a consultant physician to the Queen Victoria Hospital from 1927 to 1957 and to the Royal Women's Hospital from 1945 to 1973. After serving as the physician-in-charge at the Royal Melbourne Hospital diabetes clinic from 1940 to 1945, she founded a diabetes clinic at the Queen Victoria Hospital in 1946 and served as its physician-in-charge until 1953. [2] She was a foundation fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 1938 and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1977. [1]

She died on 1 September 1983 in East Melbourne. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre</span>

The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, also known as the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute and commonly abbreviated as Peter Mac, is an Australian oncology research institute, cancer treatment and professional oncologist training centre located in Melbourne, Victoria. The centre is named in honour of Sir Peter MacCallum. Since June 2016, the centre has been located within the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) in Parkville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Prendergast</span> Australian politician

George Michael "Mick" Prendergast was an Australian politician who served as the 28th Premier of Victoria. He was born to Irish emigrant parents in Adelaide, but he grew up in Stawell, Victoria. He was apprenticed as a printer, and worked as a compositor in Ballarat, Sydney and Narrandera before settling in Melbourne in 1887. A member of the Typographical Association, he represented that union at the Melbourne Trades Hall, of which he was President in 1893.

The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supported and helped found the London School of Medicine for Women wanted to provide educated women with the necessary facilities for learning and practicing midwifery and other branches of medicine while also promoting their future employment in the fields of midwifery and other fields of treatment for women and children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Herring</span> Australian doctor and community worker

Dame Mary Ranken Herring, was an Australian medical practitioner and community worker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vera Scantlebury Brown</span> Australian pediatrician

Vera Scantlebury Brown OBE was an Australian medical practitioner and pediatrician in Victoria, Australia.

Sir Richard Rawdon Stawell KBE, was an Australian medical doctor and the President of the Victorian branch of the British Medical Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewis Nott</span> Australian politician

Lewis Windermere Nott was an Australian politician, medical practitioner and hospital superintendent. He represented two federal electorates, more than 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) and 21 years apart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital</span> Hospital in Fairfield, Australia

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Isabel Campbell</span>

Dame Kate Isabel Campbell, DBE, FRCOG was a noted Australian physician and paediatrician. Campbell's discovery, that blindness in premature babies was caused by high concentrations of oxygen, resulted in the alteration of the treatment of premature babies world-wide and for this she received global recognition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilian Helen Alexander</span> Australian surgeon (1861–1934)

Lilian Helen Alexander was an Australian surgeon and one of the first women to study medicine at the University of Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet Greig</span> Scottish-Australian anaesthetist

Janet Lindsay Greig was a Scottish-Australian anaesthetist. In 2007, she was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Stocks Greig</span> Scottish-Australian medical doctor and public health specialist

Jane Stocks "Jean" Greig was a Scottish-Australian medical doctor and public health specialist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellison Harvie</span> Australian architect

(Edythe) Ellison Harvie was an Australian architect and an advocate for the professional development of women. In 1938, she became the first Australian woman to graduate with a Diploma of Architectural Design. Four years later she became the first woman to be elected to an Australian Architectural Institute council in 1942, as well as the first female Fellow of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects in 1946. That same year, she became the first Australian woman to become a partner in a large firm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margery Blackie</span> British homeopath

Margery Grace Blackie CVO MD, FFHom was a British Doctor of Medicine who was appointed as the first woman royal physician to Queen Elizabeth II.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Mackay</span> British paediatrician

Helen Marion Macpherson Mackay was a British paediatrician. She made important contributions to the understanding of childhood nutrition and preventive healthcare. Mackay was the first woman fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.

The Victorian Medical Women's Society (VMWS) is the longest-running association of women medical practitioners and medical students. It was established in Melbourne, Australia in 1895/1896 and is one of the oldest active medical organisations in the world. The aim of the society was to set a benchmark in women's health around Victoria, and to advance the professional development of medical women, through education, research, and the improvement of professional opportunities. The state-run society became affiliated with the national body, Australian Federation of Medical Women, and thereby the Medical Women's International Association.

Jean Flatt Davey OC, OBE was a Canadian physician. In August 1941, Davey joined the medical branch of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and became the first female doctor to be granted a commission in the medical branch of any Canadian armed force. From 1950 to 1965 she was the Physician-in-Chief of the Department of Medicine at Toronto's Women's College Hospital.

Una Porter (1900-1996) was an Australian psychiatrist and philanthropist. As senior psychiatrist at Queen Victoria Hospital, she established their first clinic of psychiatry. She was active in the Australian Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), and served as world president from 1963 to 1967. She was appointed an officer in the Order of the British Empire on 31 December 1960, and elevated to CBE on 1 January 1968.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lack, John (2012). "Mackay, Kate (1897–1983)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Mackay, Kate". Australian Women's Register. 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2023.