Lilian Violet Cooper

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This article is about the Australian doctor. For the British actor, see Lillian Kemble-Cooper.
Lilian Violet Cooper

Lilian Violet Cooper (11 August 1861 - 18 August 1947 Brisbane) was a British-born medical practitioner in Queensland, Australia. She was the first female doctor registered in Queensland.[1]

Early life and education[]

Lillian Cooper was born in Clapham, South London on 11 August 1861, to parents Henry Fallowfield Cooper, a captain in the Royal Marines, and his wife Elizabeth.[2] She chose to study medicine at the London School of Medicine for Women in 1886. After completing the course in October 1890 she qualified as a doctor at the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, studying also at the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, and the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow.

Career[]

On completing her education at the London School of Medicine for Women, Dr Cooper sailed for Brisbane with Ms Bedford in 1891. In June of that year, Dr Cooper applied for registration with the Medical Board of Queensland, becoming the first woman doctor registered in Queensland and the second in Australia. Dr Cooper began her professional career in Brisbane with Dr Booth at his general practice in South Brisbane. However, after 6 months of working with Booth who was, reportedly, inebriated for much of the time, Dr Cooper terminated her agreement with him and set up her own practice. Her actions raised the ire of Brisbane’s then (all male) medical establishment who shunned her professionally until 1893 when she was finally admitted as a member of the Queensland Medical Society. She commenced her own practice at the George Street Mansions in 1893, making house calls in her horse and sulky initially, then famously, in her much-loved motorcar.[3] Dr Cooper the worked at the Hospital for Sick Children and the Lady Lamington Hospital for Women in Brisbane, before joining the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in 1905. [4]

During World War I, Cooper volunteered with the Scottish Women's Hospital Service after was she was turned down by the Australian Army as female doctors were not wanted. She assisted people on the front line in France and Serbia and was in charge of the ambulance division, with all female drivers (including her close friend Mary Josephine Bedford). Operating in tents close to the front line, Cooper was later awarded the Order of St Sava from the Serbian King for her wartime efforts.[5]

With World War 1, Dr Cooper and Mary Josephine Bedford returned to Brisbane in 1918, living at Kangaroo Point. Ms Bedford became a Founder of the Creche and Kindergarten (C&K) Association and in 1920 she was elected to the National Council of Women.  Her companion, Dr Cooper became a Foundation Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1928 and Founder of the Queensland Medical Women’s Society.[6]  Dr Cooper retired in 1941.

Personal life[]

Cooper died at Brisbane on 22 August 1991 and is buried next to her long-time companion Mary Josephine Bedford at Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.[7]

Legacy[]

The electoral district of Cooper, created in the 2012 Queensland state electoral redistribution [8] and the Lilian Cooper Medical Centre in Spring Hill and both named after Lilian Cooper.[9]

In 2020 the State Library of Queensland produced an episode on Lilian Cooper and her life achievements for their Dangerous Women Podcast series.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ Leggett, C. A. C. Cooper, Lilian Violet (1861–1947). Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  2. ^ Patrick, Ross. 'The First Woman' in: Horsewhip the Doctor Tales from Our Medical Past. UQ Press, 1985 p 147
  3. ^ CC-BY-icon-80x15.png This Wikipedia article incorporates CC-BY-4.0 licensed text from: "Dr Lilian Cooper and Ms Josephine Bedford". John Oxley Library Blog. State Library of Queensland. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  4. ^ Leggett, C.A.C. "Cooper, Lilian Violet (1861–1947)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  5. ^ "Lilian Cooper (1861-1947)" (PDF). History of women in Queensland. Queensland Government. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  6. ^ CC-BY icon.svg This Wikipedia article incorporates text from Dr Lilian Cooper and Ms Josephine Bedford (23 November 2020) published by the State Library of Queensland under CC-BY licence, accessed on 27 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Cemeteries search". Brisbane City Council. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  8. ^ Queensland Redistribution Commission (26 May 2017). "Determination of Queensland's Legislative Assembly Electoral Districts" (PDF). Queensland Government Gazette. p. 188. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  9. ^ CC-BY icon.svg This Wikipedia article incorporates text from Dr Lilian Cooper and Ms Josephine Bedford (23 November 2020) published by the State Library of Queensland under CC-BY licence, accessed on 27 May 2020.
  10. ^ CC-BY-icon-80x15.png This Wikipedia article incorporates CC-BY-4.0 licensed text from: "Dangerous Women". State Library of Queensland. State Library of Queensland. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2020.

External Links[]

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