Iza Coghlan

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Iza Coghlan
MBBS ChM
Iza Coghlan in 1906
Born(1868-10-10)10 October 1868
Redfern, New South Wales
Died1 July 1946(1946-07-01) (aged 77)
Collaroy, New South Wales
OccupationMedical doctor

Iza Frances Josephine Coghlan MBBS ChM (10 October 1868 – 1 July 1946) was an Australian medical doctor. With Grace Boelke, she was one of the first two female graduates in medicine from the University of Sydney.

Biography[edit]

Coghlan was born in Redfern, a suburb of Sydney, in 1868, to Irish immigrant parents.[1] Her father, Thomas Coghlan, a plasterer, died when Iza was 13.[2] She received a scholarship to attend Sydney Girls High School when it opened in 1883.[3] She enrolled at the University of Sydney in 1887 and was the sole woman in the year's intake of medical students. In 1897, she graduated with a bachelor of medicine and a master of surgery, making her one of the first female graduates in medicine in the state of New South Wales, along with Grace Boelke.[1][2]

Coghlan established a private practice in Sydney in 1893 and began working as a life insurance medical assessor in 1894. From 1910, she medically examined candidates seeking employment in the federal public service, and from 1915 she worked as a medical officer in the NSW Department of Public Instruction. She was a co-founder and president of the NSW Medical Women's Society and worked with St John Ambulance Australia to give lectures on first aid and home nursing.[1]

She never married, and retired in 1930 to live with two of her sisters in Collaroy in northern Sydney.[1] She died on 1 July 1946 from coronary heart disease.[2] She had eight siblings, including the statistician and engineer Timothy Augustine Coghlan, the lawyer Charles Coghlan, and the politician Cecil Coghlan.[1][4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Fox, Karen. "Iza Frances Coghlan (1868–1946)". National Centre of Biography. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Witton, Vanessa (2020). "Dr Iza Coghlan". Dictionary of Sydney. State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  3. ^ "History of Sydney Girls High School". Sydney Girls High School. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  4. ^ Heffernan, Elizabeth (14 February 2020). "Iza Coghlan (1868-1946)". Royal Australian Historical Society. Retrieved 25 November 2023.