Joan Refshauge
Encyclopedia
Dr Joan Refshauge, OBE
, MJC, MB, BS (3 December 1906 – 25 July 1979) was an New Guinea
n-based Australian
medical practitioner, administrator and schoolteacher.
, the eldest of five siblings. One of her brothers was Major General Sir William Dudley Refshauge (1913–2009)
. She attended University High School
, Presbyterian Ladies' College
, and the University of Melbourne
(BSc, 1928; MSc, 1929; MB/B.S., 1939). She was a math teacher from 1930-35, after which she became a physician.
. Their son (her only child), Rupert Bergin, was born in 1942. Max and Joan Bergin divorced in 1948.
, Papua New Guinea
in 1947. As a woman physician, she was only allowed to deal with maternal and children's issues. She continued her practice there. After her divorce in 1948 her son joined her there, where she ran the Maternal and Child Health Services. She recruited staff, organised the nurses' training and oversaw school health-services. During this time she established 21 central clinics, 528 village clinics, and 541 centres visited by mobile patrols in the ANGAU Territory, before her resignation in 1963, when she joined the Queensland
Department of Health, and was named deputy-director of maternal and child welfare in 1968. She retired five years later in 1973.
, Queensland
. She was survived by her son, Rupert Bergin.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, MJC, MB, BS (3 December 1906 – 25 July 1979) was an New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
n-based Australian
Australian people
Australian people, or simply Australians, are the citizens of Australia. Australia is a multi-ethnic nation, and therefore the term "Australian" is not a racial identifier. Aside from the Indigenous Australian population, nearly all Australians or their ancestors immigrated within the past 230 years...
medical practitioner, administrator and schoolteacher.
Education
Joan Janet Brown Refshauge was born in Armadale, VictoriaArmadale, Victoria
Armadale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Armadale had a population of 8,467....
, the eldest of five siblings. One of her brothers was Major General Sir William Dudley Refshauge (1913–2009)
William Refshauge
Major General Sir William Dudley Refshauge, AC, CBE, ED, FRSH was an Australian soldier and public health administrator...
. She attended University High School
University High School, Melbourne
The University High School is a public, co-educational high school, located in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville.-History:...
, Presbyterian Ladies' College
Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne
Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne , is an independent,private, Presbyterian, day and boarding school predominantly for girls, located in Burwood, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, and the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
(BSc, 1928; MSc, 1929; MB/B.S., 1939). She was a math teacher from 1930-35, after which she became a physician.
Marriage
On 19 May 1937, she married Max Bergin, a surveyor with the ANGAUAustralian New Guinea Administrative Unit
The Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit was a civil administration of Territory of Papua and the Mandated Territory of New Guinea formed on 21 March 1942 during World War II...
. Their son (her only child), Rupert Bergin, was born in 1942. Max and Joan Bergin divorced in 1948.
New Guinea
Refshauge joined her husband in Port MoresbyPort Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
in 1947. As a woman physician, she was only allowed to deal with maternal and children's issues. She continued her practice there. After her divorce in 1948 her son joined her there, where she ran the Maternal and Child Health Services. She recruited staff, organised the nurses' training and oversaw school health-services. During this time she established 21 central clinics, 528 village clinics, and 541 centres visited by mobile patrols in the ANGAU Territory, before her resignation in 1963, when she joined the Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
Department of Health, and was named deputy-director of maternal and child welfare in 1968. She retired five years later in 1973.
Death
Refshauge died on 25 July 1979, aged 72, from undisclosed causes at Auchenflower, BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. She was survived by her son, Rupert Bergin.
Honors and awards
- OBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(1964) - Cilento Medal "in honour of ... excellent work for maternal and child health in Papua-New Guinea" (1964)
Publications
- C. Bell (editor), The Diseases and Health Services of Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby, 1973)
- L. M. Hellstedt (editor), Women Physicians of the World (Washington, 1978)
- E. Kettle, That They Might Live (privately published, Sydney, 1979)
- J. Byford, Dealing with Death, Beginning with Birth: Women's Health and Childbirth on Misima Island, Papua New Guinea (Ph.D. thesis, Australian National University, 1999)