Myra Rendle Mackenzie - dentist

I am currently moving all my content from my Women of the North blog across to North Queensland History blog. This article was first published by Trisha Fielding on 26 June 2018.

When Myra Rendle was 14 years old she began an apprenticeship with a Brisbane dentist named Robert Thomason. After completing her training four years later she opened her own practice, which was situated on the corner of Queen and Edward Streets, Brisbane. This might seem unremarkable if it weren't for the fact that Myra opened her practice in 1899. She was 18 years old, and she was the first female dentist in Queensland.

Portrait of Myra Rendle, 1911. Photo: CityLibraries Townsville Local History Collection.

The Brisbane Courier considered it a sign of progress for Brisbane:

The profession of dentistry has been practised for some time past by women dentists in America, and there are also several practising successfully in Melbourne. Brisbane is now following suit, and will add the name of Miss Myra Rendle to the list of dental practitioners. Miss Rendle is a daughter of the well-known physician, Dr R. Rendle, M.D. of this town, and she is a pupil of the late Dr R.B. Thomason.

Undoubtedly Myra's father, Richard, was an important influence in her choice of career. He recognised his daughter's 'above average mental capacity' and evidently saw no barriers to his daughter - a woman - taking up dentistry. Indeed, Miss Rendle attended the inaugural meeting of the Academy of Stomatology¹ in her father's consulting rooms, along with 25 other Brisbane dentists or dental students in 1896. Although it would have been unusual at this time to have a woman present at such a meeting, this does not seem to have deterred Miss Rendle.

In January 1901, after completing a 'professional tour' of Normanton, Croydon and Burketown, Myra Rendle opened a practice in Flinders Street, Townsville. During the next fifteen years in Townsville, Myra was very active in a number of sports, including golf, sailing and rowing.

Myra Rendle and friends rowing on Ross Creek, Townsville, c. 1905. Photo: CityLibraries Townsville Local History Collection.

In 1916, Myra married William Seaforth Mackenzie in Wellington, New Zealand. Mackenzie was from the Lower Burdekin, but had obtained work as a lithographer in New Zealand. They had a son together the following year, but tragically in 1918 her husband William was killed in action in France in World War I. Myra returned to Australia with her son, but did not practice dentistry again, except for a brief stint as a locum in Brisbane.

 

¹ Stomatology - a branch of medical science dealing with the mouth and its diseases.

Selected Sources:

• Brisbane Courier, 9 March 1899, pp. 4 & 6; 30 November 1900, p. 2.
• Townsville Daily Bulletin, 3 April 1916, p. 4; 6 February 1915, p. 1.
• Courier Mail, 12 May 1954, p. 2.
• Romaniuk, Kon, 'Pioneer Woman of Dentistry Myra Rendle Mackenzie', ADA News Bulletin, September 1994, pp. 32-35.

Original banner from Women of the North blog, by Ashley Fielding, BNewMediaArts (JCU) 

Matron Margaret Monaghan

I am currently moving all my content from my Women of the North blog across to North Queensland History blog. This article was first published by Trisha Fielding on 24 March 2018.

Margaret Monaghan set up and ran Bay View Private Hospital, one of the most successful and longest-running private hospitals in Townsville in the first half of the twentieth century. Margaret was a popular and well-respected woman, who deservedly enjoyed a revered position within the Townsville community.

The staff of Bay View Private Hospital, c.1930. Matron Monaghan is seated in the centre. Photo courtesy of Townsville Museum and Historical Society.

Margaret Jane Lewis Monaghan was born in Durham, England, in 1883 and later migrated to Australia with her family – arriving in early 1890. In May 1912, Margaret qualified for a certificate in midwifery from the Lady Bowen Hospital, in Brisbane. In December that year, she paid the required fee of 10 shillings to register with the State as a midwife. For some years after this, Margaret appears to have been a private midwife, possibly operating from her home in Wills Street, as well as attending women in their own homes.

By the early 1920s, she had set up “Tauntonia” Private Hospital, in Walker Street, near the Technical College. This hospital catered for both general and maternity patients, who were attended by local doctors, including Dr Mason and Dr O’Neill. Tauntonia’s professional staff consisted of two day-nurses plus a Sister, and Matron Monaghan herself. She may have also employed domestic staff, such as a cook and a kitchen maid.

In late 1925, Matron Monaghan re-located Tauntonia to Hale Street, on Stanton Hill. This site, opposite the Christian Brothers’ School, had commanding views over Cleveland Bay. In March 1927, after completing “extensive and up-to-date alterations”, she renamed her private hospital “Bay View”, in keeping with its location. At this time, Margaret would have been in direct competition with several local doctors who also ran their own private hospitals, but in spite of the competition, together Tauntonia and Bay View ran for almost two decades. The longevity of Matron Monaghan’s establishments is testament to her skill as a businesswoman, as well as a nurse and midwife.

Bay View Private Hospital, Stanton Hill, Townsville. Photo: City Libraries Townsville Local History Collection.

In 1941, with a view to retiring, Matron placed Bay View up for sale. An advertisement for the sale of the property notes that the private hospital was registered with the Health Department and contained two operating theatres. Included in the sale of equipment and fittings were 17 surgical beds and 4 eye beds. The property had accommodation for 8 nursing staff and 4 domestic staff as well as adjoining quarters for the matron. It is clear from this advertisement that Bay View Private Hospital was a sizeable, professionally-run hospital that provided employment for at least 12 people.

Sometime in the early 1940s, Margaret retired to her Magnetic Island home - “Rookery Nook” - situated on the eastern heights of Alma Bay. She was frequently visited by mainland friends, where she was well-known for her superb hospitality. An article in the Townsville Daily Bulletin in late 1945 described a party at Rookery Nook to celebrate the end of the war, and to honour an old friend’s birthday:

“Culinary delights which the matron just knows how to conjure loaded the table, and bowls of pink and white frangipani clusters added fragrance and rich artistry to the large, two-tiered square birthday cake.”

Taking into consideration her years as a private midwife, as well as her time as matron of Tauntonia and Bay View, Margaret Monaghan served the Townsville community for at least thirty years. Around 1953 she moved to Eventide, at Charters Towers, where she lived out the remaining six years of her life.

Matron Monaghan is featured in my 2019 book Neither Mischievous nor Meddlesome.

Original banner from Women of the North blog, by Ashley Fielding, BNewMediaArts (JCU)