Ethel Mary Vaughan Cowan
Ethel Mary Vaughan Eaves (née Cowan) (born 1868 – died 1943) was an Australian medical doctor who in 1898 was the first female doctor at the Royal Children's Hospital.[1]
Cowan was described in a 20 November 1897 article in the Kyneton Observer as a "native of Ballarat"[2]
After training and working as a nurse in Ballarat,[3] Cowan graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Medicine degree in 1897.[4] Prior to her appointment as resident at the Royal Children's Hospital in 1898, Cowan was obliged to work for one month without pay to prove her competency.[5] Returning from a visit to England in 1902, she replaced Mary Fletcher in an honorary appointment at the Queen Victoria Hospital.[6]
On 18 August 1904, Cowan married Stanley Eaves.[7]
In 2024, after a 2023 proposal by the Melbourne City Council,[8] a lane in Carlton, near to the Children's Hospital former location was named in honour of Cowan.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "On the map: Victoria names more new places after women than men for the first time". The Guardian. 10 March 2025. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
- ^ "Fatal Bicycle Accident". The Kyneton Observer. The Kyneton Observer via Trove. 20 November 1897. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
- ^ "Melbourne Hospital for Sick Children - farewell to Dr Ethel Mary Vaughan Cowan (1868–1943)". Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Museums at The University of Melbourne Collection Online. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
- ^ "Conferring University Degrees". The Age via Trove. 16 November 1879. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
- ^ "Hospital Heroes Gallery: Clinical Excellence". The Royal Children's Hospital Foundation. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
- ^ "Society Notes". The Arena. Victoria, Australia. 8 May 1902. p. 16. Retrieved 14 March 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Argus - 24 September 1904 - Family notices". The Argus (Melbourne). 24 September 1904. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
- ^ "Proposed naming of CL520, Carlton as Cowan Lane open for submissions". City of Melbourne. Retrieved 11 March 2025.