Dagmar Berne
Encyclopedia
Dagmar Berne was an Australia
n medical doctor and the first female student to study medicine in Australia.
around 1865, the eldest daughter among eight siblings. Her father, who was a migrant to Australia from Denmark
, died when Berne was young, attempting to save a drowning man in the Bega River
but drowning himself. Her mother's second husband, a pastoralist, died when Berne was a teenager, prompting the family to move to Sydney
.
Berne's mother intended to give all her children a good education, and so Berne was enrolled in the Springfield Ladies' College in Potts Point
. Unsatisfied with the subjects on offer – highlights included needlework
, deportment and dancing – Berne persuaded her mother to arrange private tutoring, and so left school at the age of seventeen to study chemistry
privately.
Berne sat the university entrance exams the following year, and originally thought she had failed, and so decided to set up a private school for girls, to be run by herself and her sixteen year old sister Florence. The sisters found premises in the southern suburb of Tempe
, prepared materials and interviewed families of prospective students, before Berne unexpectedly was informed that she had passed the entrance exams, and had been admitted to study at the University of Sydney
, just days before the school was scheduled to open. Florence Berne continued without her elder sister, and taught a school of six students, including two of the younger Berne sisters.
, botany
, chemistry and zoology
, a very strong academic result. However during her second year of study was under Professor Stuart, and she could not achieve the same results as her first year of study; indeed she did not pass another examination. Some writers have suggested that Stuart deliberately failed Berne or gave her lower marks because he did not want a woman to graduate in medicine out of prejudice, citing the results of some of Berne's fellow male students, who received greatly lower marks than her in first year but still managed to pass second and later years above her. However others have suggested that despite immense dedication, Berne struggled to keep up with the other students at this level due to her lack of access to secondary education in science subjects.
English
doctor Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
(the second woman in the world to gain registration to practice as a doctor, after Elizabeth Blackwell) was visiting Australia on a lecture tour in 1888, and Berne met her during her visit. Berne told her of her difficulties studying medicine in Australia, and Garrett Anderson recounted her own experience while studying, which was very similar to Berne's: she had not been allowed to finish her studies in England and had finished her education at the University of Paris
instead. Inspired by Garrett Anderson's similar experience, Berne and her mother approached the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Sir Henry McLaurin, for help in qualifying for her degree, but he refused, asserting that no woman would graduate in medicine while he was Vice-Chancellor.
Berne decided to leave Australia, but not before farewelling Professor Stuart and informing him of her plan to finish her study overseas; Stuart tried to dissuade her from studying further, patting her on the head and saying "you're far too nice a girl to do medicine." Berne sailed for England, along with her sister Florence, who had decided to give up teaching and also study medicine.
The sisters had inherited some money and could afford to live in London
, although their mother had advised them to leave the majority of their money safely in Australia, so they lived on fairly narrow means. Berne joined the Royal Free Hospital
, a teaching hospital
, in 1889. She sat the exams of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries
in 1891 and passed with excellent marks in anatomy and physiology
, and proceeded on to the final portion her studies at the University of London
. Florence also joined the university, having passed the entrance exam. While successful at the university, Dagmar often suffered from pneumonia
and pleurisy
due to her meagre living conditions, and so she decided to return to Sydney once she had completed her education and gained some experience in practice.
During Berne's final year of study, the economic downturn in Australia of the early 1890s caused the family to lose all of their savings, including the inheritances of Berne and Florence, and the sisters' other siblings had been forced to work to support the family, their brother Frederick having to quit school. The sisters could no longer afford to support themselves while studying, and so Florence, without informing Berne, took a job as a governess
based on her teaching experience. Although Berne protested this sacrifice, she ultimately completed her education, graduating in 1893. She obtained the Triple Qualification, the Scottish
variant of the Conjoint
qualification, comprising diplomas from the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
. She was one of eighteen Australian women licenced to practice in Scotland in the 19th century, and one of eleven thereof to obtain the Triple Qualification. Following this, Berne worked at a hospital in the London suburb of Tottenham
as a residency
, before returning to Australia in 1895.
On 9 January 1895, Berne registered to practice as a doctor with the Medical Board of New South Wales, only the second woman to register in Australia (after Dr Constance Stone
). She opened a practice in Macquarie Street, Sydney
the same year. Her sister Eugenie came to live with her, and persuaded her to take tests due to her continuing symptoms despite the better Australian weather.
, and moved to the rural town of Trundle
to stay with family friends, in the hope that the drier climate would be good for her health. She continued to practice in Trundle until her death in 1900.
Berne is interred in the Waverley Cemetery in the eastern Sydney suburb of Waverley
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n medical doctor and the first female student to study medicine in Australia.
Early years and education
Berne was born in New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
around 1865, the eldest daughter among eight siblings. Her father, who was a migrant to Australia from Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, died when Berne was young, attempting to save a drowning man in the Bega River
Bega River (New South Wales)
The Bega River is located in the far South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The river rises in the Kybeyan Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, and discharges into the South Pacific Ocean at the town of Tathra. The river is known as the Bemboka River in its upper reaches and its major...
but drowning himself. Her mother's second husband, a pastoralist, died when Berne was a teenager, prompting the family to move to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
Berne's mother intended to give all her children a good education, and so Berne was enrolled in the Springfield Ladies' College in Potts Point
Potts Point, New South Wales
Potts Point is a small, densely-populated suburb of inner-city Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Potts Point is located 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney....
. Unsatisfied with the subjects on offer – highlights included needlework
Needlework
Needlework is a broad term for the handicrafts of decorative sewing and textile arts. Anything that uses a needle for construction can be called needlework...
, deportment and dancing – Berne persuaded her mother to arrange private tutoring, and so left school at the age of seventeen to study chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
privately.
Berne sat the university entrance exams the following year, and originally thought she had failed, and so decided to set up a private school for girls, to be run by herself and her sixteen year old sister Florence. The sisters found premises in the southern suburb of Tempe
Tempe, New South Wales
Tempe is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Tempe is located 9 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Marrickville Council....
, prepared materials and interviewed families of prospective students, before Berne unexpectedly was informed that she had passed the entrance exams, and had been admitted to study at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, just days before the school was scheduled to open. Florence Berne continued without her elder sister, and taught a school of six students, including two of the younger Berne sisters.
Career
Berne enrolled at the university in 1885, originally studying arts, but transferring to medicine in 1886 when a position opened in the third intake of fifteen students. Berne became the first woman to study medicine in Australia, against the protests of the Dean of Medicine, Professor Anderson Stuart, who was one of several senior staff at the university who internally questioned the admission of female students, despite outwardly accepting it. Berne had a successful first year of medicine, gaining honours across the board in anatomyAnatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
, botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, chemistry and zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, a very strong academic result. However during her second year of study was under Professor Stuart, and she could not achieve the same results as her first year of study; indeed she did not pass another examination. Some writers have suggested that Stuart deliberately failed Berne or gave her lower marks because he did not want a woman to graduate in medicine out of prejudice, citing the results of some of Berne's fellow male students, who received greatly lower marks than her in first year but still managed to pass second and later years above her. However others have suggested that despite immense dedication, Berne struggled to keep up with the other students at this level due to her lack of access to secondary education in science subjects.
English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
doctor Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, LSA, MD , was an English physician and feminist, the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Britain and the first female mayor in England.-Early life:...
(the second woman in the world to gain registration to practice as a doctor, after Elizabeth Blackwell) was visiting Australia on a lecture tour in 1888, and Berne met her during her visit. Berne told her of her difficulties studying medicine in Australia, and Garrett Anderson recounted her own experience while studying, which was very similar to Berne's: she had not been allowed to finish her studies in England and had finished her education at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
instead. Inspired by Garrett Anderson's similar experience, Berne and her mother approached the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Sir Henry McLaurin, for help in qualifying for her degree, but he refused, asserting that no woman would graduate in medicine while he was Vice-Chancellor.
Berne decided to leave Australia, but not before farewelling Professor Stuart and informing him of her plan to finish her study overseas; Stuart tried to dissuade her from studying further, patting her on the head and saying "you're far too nice a girl to do medicine." Berne sailed for England, along with her sister Florence, who had decided to give up teaching and also study medicine.
The sisters had inherited some money and could afford to live in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, although their mother had advised them to leave the majority of their money safely in Australia, so they lived on fairly narrow means. Berne joined the Royal Free Hospital
Royal Free Hospital
The Royal Free Hospital is a major teaching hospital in Hampstead, London, England and part of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust....
, a teaching hospital
Teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...
, in 1889. She sat the exams of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries
Worshipful Society of Apothecaries
The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Originally, apothecaries were members of the Grocers' Company and before this members of the Guild of Pepperers formed in London in 1180...
in 1891 and passed with excellent marks in anatomy and physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, and proceeded on to the final portion her studies at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. Florence also joined the university, having passed the entrance exam. While successful at the university, Dagmar often suffered from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and pleurisy
Pleurisy
Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
due to her meagre living conditions, and so she decided to return to Sydney once she had completed her education and gained some experience in practice.
During Berne's final year of study, the economic downturn in Australia of the early 1890s caused the family to lose all of their savings, including the inheritances of Berne and Florence, and the sisters' other siblings had been forced to work to support the family, their brother Frederick having to quit school. The sisters could no longer afford to support themselves while studying, and so Florence, without informing Berne, took a job as a governess
Governess
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
based on her teaching experience. Although Berne protested this sacrifice, she ultimately completed her education, graduating in 1893. She obtained the Triple Qualification, the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
variant of the Conjoint
Conjoint
The conjoint was a basic medical qualification in the United Kingdom administered by the United Examining Board. It is now no longer awarded. The Conjoint Board was superseded in 1994 by the United Examining Board, which lost its permission to hold qualifying medical examinations after 1999.Medical...
qualification, comprising diplomas from the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is an organisation dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and advancement in surgical practice, through its interest in education, training and examinations, its liaison with external medical bodies and representation of the modern surgical workforce...
and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, is an institute of physicians and surgeons in Glasgow, Scotland.Founded by Peter Lowe after receiving a royal charter by James VI in 1599, as the Glasgow Faculty, this institution originally existed as a regulatory authority to ensure that...
. She was one of eighteen Australian women licenced to practice in Scotland in the 19th century, and one of eleven thereof to obtain the Triple Qualification. Following this, Berne worked at a hospital in the London suburb of Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
as a residency
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
, before returning to Australia in 1895.
On 9 January 1895, Berne registered to practice as a doctor with the Medical Board of New South Wales, only the second woman to register in Australia (after Dr Constance Stone
Constance Stone
Emma Constance Stone was the first woman to practice medicine in Australia and played an important role in founding the Queen Victoria Hospital in Melbourne....
). She opened a practice in Macquarie Street, Sydney
Macquarie Street, Sydney
Macquarie Street is the easternmost street of Sydney's central business district. Macquarie Street extends from Hyde Park at its southern end to the Sydney Opera House at its north.-Description:...
the same year. Her sister Eugenie came to live with her, and persuaded her to take tests due to her continuing symptoms despite the better Australian weather.
Last years
Berne was ultimately diagnosed with tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, and moved to the rural town of Trundle
Trundle, New South Wales
Trundle is a small town in Parkes Shire in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It had a population of 379 in 2006, including 23 indigenous people and 23 foreign-born people ....
to stay with family friends, in the hope that the drier climate would be good for her health. She continued to practice in Trundle until her death in 1900.
Legacy
Following Berne's death, her mother established the Dagmar Berne Prize in her honour, which is awarded annually to the final-year medical student at the University of Sydney with the highest marks.Berne is interred in the Waverley Cemetery in the eastern Sydney suburb of Waverley
Waverley, New South Wales
Waverley is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Waverley is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council....
.