Mary Herring
Encyclopedia
Dame Mary Ranken Lyle Herring, DBE
, CStJ
(31 March 1895 - 26 October 1981) was an Australian physician and community worker.
, a mathematical physicist, and his wife, Frances Isobel Clare Millear, she attended Toorak College
between 1906 and 1912, and she excelled both academically and at sport. In 1913 she entered the University of Melbourne
as a medical student. She was captain of the women's tennis
and hockey
teams, obtaining University Sporting Blue
in both sports.
Mary graduated with her Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
(MB, BS) in 1921, achieving first-class honours in all subjects, with a first in medicine and fourth in surgery. She won the Keith Levi Memorial Scholarship in medicine and the Sameson prize in clinical medicine (Hilton). She became a resident surgeon at Royal Melbourne Hospital
under Sir Alan Newton.
In 1918 she had met Edmund Herring
, then a young Australian captain in the British Army
on leave from the Macedonian front
of the Great War
, and they were married on 6 April 1922 at Toorak Presbyterian Church. They had three daughters, Mary Cecile ("Molly"; b. 1924), Judith Ann ("Judy"; b. 1926), and Margaret Lyle (b. 1933).
, and became a model for similar clinic established by Mary in South Melbourne
in 1940. At the time she started work at the Prahran clinic, she was a mother herself and pregnant with Judy, a circumstance of great interest to the women who sought advice or treatment at the clinic. She continued working at the Prahran Health Centre until 1945.
Herring joined the Melbourne District Nursing Society in 1931, and was its vice president from 1943 to 1953. Mary was one of three doctors who banded together to establish Women's Welfare Clinic to offer advice on birth control
, at a time when many doctors and a large segment of the community were opposed to it. This clinic functioned for one day a week until 1940 when it was discontinued, as the advice it offered could by then be obtained elsewhere.
on 11 June 1960 "for services to nursing in Victoria".
is named in her honour.
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...
, CStJ
Venerable Order of Saint John
The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
(31 March 1895 - 26 October 1981) was an Australian physician and community worker.
Early life
Born the eldest of four children of Sir Thomas Ranken LyleThomas Ranken Lyle
Sir Thomas Ranken Lyle FRS was an Irish-born and educated mathematical physicist and educator. He emigrated to Australia to take up a professorship at the University of Melbourne, where he was a pioneer in the use of X-rays as a medical tool...
, a mathematical physicist, and his wife, Frances Isobel Clare Millear, she attended Toorak College
Toorak College, Mt Eliza
Toorak College is an independent, inter-denominational, day and boarding school for girls years 7 - 12 and co-educational from pre school to Year 6...
between 1906 and 1912, and she excelled both academically and at sport. In 1913 she entered 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...
as a medical student. She was captain of the women's tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
teams, obtaining University Sporting Blue
University Sporting Blue
A Blue is an award earned by sportsmen and women at a university and some schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of Blues began at Oxford and Cambridge Universities...
in both sports.
Mary graduated with her Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae , are the two first professional degrees awarded upon graduation from medical school in medicine and surgery by universities in various countries...
(MB, BS) in 1921, achieving first-class honours in all subjects, with a first in medicine and fourth in surgery. She won the Keith Levi Memorial Scholarship in medicine and the Sameson prize in clinical medicine (Hilton). She became a resident surgeon at Royal Melbourne Hospital
Royal Melbourne Hospital
The Royal Melbourne Hospital , located in Parkville, Victoria an inner suburb of Melbourne is one of Australia’s leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research...
under Sir Alan Newton.
In 1918 she had met Edmund Herring
Edmund Herring
Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, KCMG, KBE, DSO, MC, KStJ, ED, QC was an Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.A Rhodes scholar, Herring was at New College, Oxford, when the First World...
, then a young Australian captain in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
on leave from the Macedonian front
Macedonian front (World War I)
The Macedonian Front resulted from an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The expedition came too late and in insufficient force to prevent the fall of Serbia, and was complicated by the internal...
of the Great War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and they were married on 6 April 1922 at Toorak Presbyterian Church. They had three daughters, Mary Cecile ("Molly"; b. 1924), Judith Ann ("Judy"; b. 1926), and Margaret Lyle (b. 1933).
Career
Mary Herring became a medical officer for the Pre-Natal Clinic at the Prahran Health Centre In 1926. This clinic was the first of its kind in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, and became a model for similar clinic established by Mary in South Melbourne
South Melbourne, Victoria
South Melbourne is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Port Phillip and Melbourne...
in 1940. At the time she started work at the Prahran clinic, she was a mother herself and pregnant with Judy, a circumstance of great interest to the women who sought advice or treatment at the clinic. She continued working at the Prahran Health Centre until 1945.
Herring joined the Melbourne District Nursing Society in 1931, and was its vice president from 1943 to 1953. Mary was one of three doctors who banded together to establish Women's Welfare Clinic to offer advice on birth control
Birth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
, at a time when many doctors and a large segment of the community were opposed to it. This clinic functioned for one day a week until 1940 when it was discontinued, as the advice it offered could by then be obtained elsewhere.
Affiliations
- Chair, Toorak CollegeToorak College, Mt ElizaToorak College is an independent, inter-denominational, day and boarding school for girls years 7 - 12 and co-educational from pre school to Year 6...
Council from 1947 to 1971, and helped coach the college tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
teams.
- Chair, Welfare Branch of the AIFSecond Australian Imperial ForceThe Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act , neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to...
Women's Association in 1940 and president from 1943 until 1946. Between 1946 and 1950 she was a foundation member and president of the Victorian Council Social Service.
- Chair, Vera Scantlebury Brown Trust for 23 years from 1946 to 1979. Herring and Vera Scantlebury BrownVera Scantlebury BrownVera Scantlebury Brown OBE was an Australian medical practitioner and pediatrician in Victoria, Australia.-Early years:...
had both attended Toorak College and were medical students at the University of MelbourneUniversity of MelbourneThe 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...
together.
- Honorary Member, Soroptimist ClubSoroptimistFounded in 1921, Soroptimist International is a world-wide volunteer service organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world...
of Victoria - President, Australian Council of the Save the Children Fund from 1962 to 1967
- Deputy president of the Victoria League from 1945 to 1972
- Vice-chairman, British Commonwealth Youth Sunday Council.
- Member, Alexandra and LyceumLyceum Club (Australia)The Lyceum Club , also known as the Australian Association of Lyceum Clubs and formed in 1972 from several smaller clubs, is an Australian arts, literature and social activism group for women only...
clubs, Royal Melbourne Golf, Barwon Heads Golf and the Lawn Tennis Association of Victoria.
Damehood
Mary Herring was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder 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...
on 11 June 1960 "for services to nursing in Victoria".
Death
Before her death on 26 October 1981, aged 86, following a long illness, Dame Mary Herring planned her funeral service, requesting that no announcements be made until after she was buried. A small private service was held on 28 October 1981.Legacy
The Mary Herring Hall at Toorak CollegeToorak College, Mt Eliza
Toorak College is an independent, inter-denominational, day and boarding school for girls years 7 - 12 and co-educational from pre school to Year 6...
is named in her honour.