In this issue of O&G Magazine, we take a look at a woman who had a considerable impact in the early history of women’s health in Australia – Dame Constance Elizabeth D’arcy.

Early Years

The youngest of nine children, Constance D’Arcy was born in the rural town of Rylstone, New South Wales, in 1879. After successfully passing her matriculation exam to attend the University of Sydney in 1898, she studied medicine, graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery with Second Class Honours in 1904.¹ This was the beginning of a lifelong association between D’arcy and the University of Sydney.

Fig. 1. Dame Constance D’arcy, 1934.

Following the completion of her degree, D’arcy left New South Wales and went to the Royal Adelaide Hospital to complete the first year of her medical residency. She had little choice but to do so, as neither teaching hospitals in Sydney (Sydney Hospital and Prince Alfred Hospital) accepted women as residents at this time.² In strident defence of one of their “distinguished natives,” the Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative newspaper noted that the “Sydney hospitals, while giving women facilities to study medicine, resolutely refuse to appoint them to the staffs [sic], an anomalous state of affairs, which caused much criticism.”³ By 1905, however, D’arcy was able to return to New South Wales, securing a post as the inaugural resident medical officer at the Royal Hospital for Women in Paddington.⁴ There, she was also able to undertake her training in obstetrics and gynaecology.² In 1908, she became the first woman to be appointed Honorary Surgeon at the Royal Hospital for Women.²

Career

A foundation Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons (RACS), as well as a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), obstetrics and women’s health were at the forefront of D’arcy’s interests.¹ She was key to the establishment of the Australian Nursing Federation,² advocated for equal pay and opportunity for women,⁵ and according to one newspaper report in 1924, she was “associated with every movement of recent years having as its particular object the welfare of women and children.”⁶ D’arcy was also a strong advocate for improving standards in nursing and antenatal care, and had a passionate interest in controlling sepsis in a hospital setting.⁴

Given the honour of presenting the Anne Mackenzie Oration in 1935, D’arcy’s chosen subject was maternal welfare. In a fascinating and wide-ranging paper, D’arcy delves into the statistics and reasoning behind maternal mortality, looks at the history of obstetrics, emphasises the importance of antenatal supervision, and decries the effect of mixed, crowded, and contaminated hospital wards on mortality through outbreaks of infection and disease. Speaking of the incredibly high levels of mortality in early lying-in wards, D’arcy notes that “if the poor mothers had been left alone to bear their children under the gum trees…many more would have lived than when herded together to be infected from one to the other.”⁷ It is worth noting that D’arcy was vehemently opposed to the legalisation of abortion, calling it a “crime” which “should be stamped out as other crime is.”⁷ This was likely partly due to health concerns, as well as her own deeply held Catholic religious views. Until the 1970s, abortion was a leading cause of maternal mortality in Australia.⁸

Outside of her advocacy work, D’arcy was highly regarded as a doctor. She was “renowned for her quick response when called,” employing chauffeurs to drive her on her rounds.⁴ Her sympathy for those in need was “spontaneous,”¹ and she was known for her “hearty, infectious laugh, a gracious manner, and her jewellery – on emergency calls, the first task of the sister on duty was to lock it away.”⁴ In 1935, D’arcy’s tireless work was recognised when she was awarded the DBE “for services to the welfare of children.”⁵ D’arcy was also honoured by the Pope, who awarded her with the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice in 1940. At the time, this was the highest honour available to women in the Catholic Church.

The Collection

RANZCOG is fortunate to hold a small collection of items used and owned by Dame Constance D’arcy. This includes a range of hypodermic needles, silk sutures, a roll of catgut, a head mirror, and an apothesine dissolver, which was used to administer anaesthesia. The provenance of these items and details of how they came to be part of the collection are currently unknown.

The catgut container carries the handwritten pencil inscription “Dame C D’arcy” and is something D’arcy would have taken great care with, having spoken in detail of the potential infection risk from improperly sterilised catgut.⁷

Fig. 2–5 Items belonging to Dame Constance D’arcy held in the RANZCOG historical collection.

1935 was a big year for D’arcy. She gave the Anne Mackenzie Oration and was made a Dame of the British Empire, but it also had significance for her at a College level. In recognition of the centenary of the founding of Melbourne, the British Medical Association held their Annual Meeting in Melbourne in 1935. The event was held in Wilson Hall at the University of Melbourne. During this event, Dr John Fairbairn, the President of RCOG, was afforded the chance to admit Australian candidates into the MRCOG. One of the candidates admitted to membership of RCOG on this occasion was Dame Constance D’arcy, a moment which was captured in the following photograph of the event, which is held within the RANZCOG collection.

Fig. 6. Dame Constance D’arcy being admitted as a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG collection).

Legacy

In her 1935 Oration, Dame Constance D’arcy noted that “the study of obstetrics, with its allied problems, occupies the major part of my working time, and so is one of the most absorbing interests of my life.Obstetrics was a true passion for D’arcy, and as one of the first women to work in the speciality within Australia, her story is an important one for the College to preserve and to share. It is a privilege to hold a small piece of this story as part of the College’s historical collection.

A selection of items belonging to Dame Constance D’arcy are currently on display at Djeembana College Place in Naarm (Melbourne). Members and trainees are invited to visit the College to view these fascinating insights into obstetrics history.