- Jessie Aspinall
Infobox Medical Person
name =Jessie Strahorn Aspinall
box_width =
image_width =
caption =
birth_date =Birth date|1880|12|10
birth_place =Forbes,New South Wales ,Australia
death_date =Death date and age|1953|8|25|1881|12|10
death_place =Haberfield,New South Wales
profession =General Practitioner
specialism =
research_field =
known_for =First female junior medical resident at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
years_active =1906-?
education =Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney
Riviere CollegeKambala Girls School University of Sydney
work_institutions =Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
General Hospital, Hobart
Crown Street Women's HospitalThe Scots College
prizes =
relations =Arthur Aspinall Jessie Strahorn Aspinall (
10 December ,1880 to25 August ,1953 ) was the first female junior medical resident at theRoyal Prince Alfred Hospital , Camperdown,Sydney . Her four brothers were also doctors.Professional career
In 1906 Aspinall applied for residency at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA), but her application was initially rejected by the board. Her father took up her cause and had a long letter published in the "
Sydney Morning Herald " early in February. This drew the attention of the public and of many different groups to the rejection of Jessie's application by the hospital, with one commentator concluding that: cquote2|Miss Aspinall will pass into history as a noble martyr, while the men who threw her out will be bracketed with Bloody Jeffreys, Torquemada and Judas Iscariot.cite web|url = http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070122b.htm|title = Aspinall, Jessie Strahorn (1880 - 1953)|accessdate = 2008-01-17|last = Durie|first = E. Beatrix|year = 1979|work = Australian Dictionary of Biography|publisher = Melbourne University Press|pages = p.118] Amid protests from Women's Rights Groups and intense media scrutiny, the board reversed its decision on 2 May. She practiced at RPA until June 1907, when she was appointed the junior house surgeon at the General Hospital, Hobart. In 1908 Jessie was appointed Resident Medical Officer of the Crown Street Women's Hospital, Sydney, and would progress to become Medical Superintendent of the institution. Eventually Jessie moved into private practice, and had consulting rooms at Lyon's Terrace and Macquarie Street, both in central Sydney. Aspinall also served as the school doctor forThe Scots College .Family background and education
Jessie Aspinall was born in Forbes,
New South Wales , the third daughter of the Rev. Arthur Aspinall and his wife Helen, the only one to survive to adulthood. Upon moving to Sydney she studied at thePresbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney , Riviere College andKambala Girls School before earning her Bachelor of Medicine from theUniversity of Sydney .On
22 June 1915 Aspinall married mining engineer Ambrose William Freeman, to whom she bore 4 children: two sons and two daughters. The family spent two periods living in Malaya. Jessie died ofarteriosclerosis . Her ashes were interred in the family grave at the South Head Cemetery.Cultural activities
Aspinall was actively involved with the Sydney executive of the Victoria League, the
National Council of Women and the appeals committee of theYoung Women's Christian Association .Jessie Aspinall will be remembered for being one of the first female doctors in general hospitals in Australia, and whose achievements challenged ingrain cultural beliefs about the position of women within society. [ [http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a739113848~db=all All this fuss about a trivial incident? women, hospitals and medical work in New South Wales, 1900-1920] ]
Obituaries
Obituaries to Jessie appeared in the "Sydney Morning Herald" and in "The Medical Journal of Australia".
References
*Andrew, Phillipa A (1997) "Built To Last: the stories of John and Thomas Aspinall and their descendants". Privately Published. :ISBN/ISSN 0 646 34463 3: available in the library of "The Society of Australian Genealogists", Sydney and the State Library of NSW.
*Commonwealth Electoral Rolls (CER)
*Historical Society of New South Wales
*Munro May (1961) "In Old Aspinall's Day"
*New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages [http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/familyHistory/search.htm]
*Sands Post Office Directories (1880-1932/33) (POD)
*"Sydney Morning Herald" 9 February, 1906
*Telephone Directories (TD)ee also
*
List of Australian Presbyterians
*List of Old Girls of PLC Sydney External links
* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070122b.htm Australian Database of Biographies Entry]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.