Misplaced Pages

Jessie Strahorn Aspinall (10 December 1880 – 25 August 1953) was the first female junior medical resident at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, Sydney. Her four brothers were also medical 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:

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.

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 for The Scots College.

Family background and education

Jessie Aspinall was born in Forbes, New South Wales, the only daughter of the Rev. Arthur Aspinall and his wife Helen. Upon moving to Sydney she studied at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney, Riviere College and Kambala before earning her Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery from the University of Sydney.

On 22 June 1915, Aspinall married mining engineer Ambrose William Freeman, to whom she bore 4 children: two sons and two daughters, one of whom married the Australian artist, Peter Michael Blayney. The family spent two periods living in Malaya; she was widowed in 1930. Jessie died of arteriosclerosis. 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 the Young 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.

Obituaries

Obituaries to Jessie appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald and in The Medical Journal of Australia.

See also

• List of Australian Presbyterians
• List of Old Girls of PLC Sydney

References

1. Durie, E. Beatrix (1979). "Aspinall, Jessie Strahorn (1880 - 1953)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 17 January 2008.
2. ^ Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology. "Aspinall, Jessie Strahorn - Person - Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation". www.eoas.info. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
3. "The Women Who Came Before Us - www.plc.nsw.edu.au". www.plc.nsw.edu.au. Retrieved 6 December 2024. She set up practice in the city and for a time was the school doctor at Scots College.
4. Durie, E. Beatrix, "Jessie Strahorn Aspinall (1880–1953)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 6 December 2024
5. "Freeman, Ambrose William (1873–1930)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 8. 1981.
6. "All this fuss about a trivial incident? women, hospitals and medical work in New South Wales, 1900-1920". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

• Andrew, Phillipa A (1997) Built To Last: the stories of John and Thomas Aspinall and their descendants. Privately Published.

ISBN 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
• Sands Post Office Directories (1880-1932/33) (POD)
• Sydney Morning Herald 9 February 1906
• Telephone Directories (TD)

External links

• Australian Database of Biographies Entry

• 1880 births
• 1953 deaths
• Australian general practitioners
• People educated at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney
• People educated at Kambala School