The Victorian Medical Women’s Society 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.
History
, the first woman to practice medicine in Australia, founded the Victorian Medical Women’s Society in 1895/96. It was founded with the aim to further the professional development of medical women by education, research and improvement of professional opportunities. Soon after its foundation, its aims evolved to promote and advocate the health and welfare of all Australians, particularly women and children.
The founders of the Victorian Medical Women's Society established The Victoria Hospital - one of the first hospitals worldwide to be run by women, for women. This clinic was run from the hall of The Welsh Church, at 320 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, where Constance Stone's husband Dr/Reverend Egryn Jones presided. Here, the founders of the society volunteered their expertise and treated the poorest of women at no cost. Their services were in high demand with over two thousand patients presenting to the clinic in its first three months of opening. To expand their services the society established the Queen’s Shilling Fund, where every woman in the state of Victoria was asked to donate a shilling to fund a new hospital. This campaign, largely arranged by suffragist Annette 'Annie' Bear-Crawford, was very successful and The Queen Victoria Hospital was born at Mint Place a year later. In 1946 it was relocated to a much larger premises at the site of the former Melbourne General Hospital on Lonsdale Street. By 1951 it was the biggest women's hospital in the British Commonwealth. In 1986 the hospital became part of the Monash Medical Centre as part of moves to decentralise hospital services.
At the time of the onset of the First World War, many Australian women doctors wanted to support the war effort by providing their much-needed skills in assisting the sick and wounded. However, as women, they were not permitted enlistment in both the Australian or Royal Army Medical Corps. Six members of the Victorian Medical Women's Society sought alternative means to provide their services, through military services established by medical women overseas. These notable women, including Mary de Garis, Helen Sexton, and Vera Scantlebury are honoured with a memorial plaque which was placed at The Welsh Church in 2016.
