Eily Elaine Gurr (8 November 1896 – 12 December 1996) was a New Zealand medical doctor and medical administrator and advocate of the discipline of general practice.

Early life and education

Gurr was born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

, New Zealand, on 8 November 1896, but grew up in Wellington and

Dannevirke Dannevirke ( "Earthworks (archaeology), work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; mi, Taniwaka, lit= or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is), is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New ...

. She was educated at

Woodford House Havelock North ( mi, Te Hemo-a-Te Atonga) is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of local ...

and Wellington Girls' College. Gurr graduated from the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

with

MB ChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

degrees in 1923.

Career

Gurr's first position was as a house surgeon at Timaru Hospital. She then left New Zealand to do post-graduate training in midwifery in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

at the

Rotunda Hospital The Rotunda Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal an Rotunda; legally the Hospital for the Relief of Poor Lying-in Women, Dublin) is a maternity hospital on Parnell Street in Dublin, Ireland, now managed by RCSI Hospitals. The eponymous Rotunda in Parnell S ...

and Coombe Hospital. This was followed by further training in ante-natal care at the

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known simply as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Bar ...

and

Chelsea Hospital The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse, the ancient sense of the word "hospital", it is a site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea. It is an in ...

in London. On the invitation of Thomas Valintine, Director General of Health and Maui Pōmare, the Minister of Health, she joined the New Zealand Department of Health in 1924 and was charged with setting up ante-natal clinics at St Helens Hospitals and other maternity hospitals. In the next three years she set up 20 public ante-natal clinics and trained nurses and midwives in ante-natal care. This was part of an initiative to improve maternity care. In 1929 she was appointed medical superintendent of the Matakaoa Hospital in

Te Araroa Te Araroa (The Long Pathway) is New Zealand's long distance tramping route, stretching circa along the length of the country's two main islands from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Officially opened in 2011, it is made up of a mixture of previously mad ...

. There she performed surgical, medical and maternity care, often attending calls to patients on horseback due to lack of roading in the rural areas. Gurr moved to Auckland in 1932–1933 setting up a private practice which specialised in obstetrics and gynaecology. Her practice at 84 Symonds St was located close to many other medical practices and she remained there for 40 years. She received an honorary appointment as assistant physician at

Auckland Hospital Auckland City Hospital is a public hospital located in Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest hospital in New Zealand,Largest hospital in New Zealand...' - News-Medical.Net, Tuesday 29 June 2004 as well as one of the oldest medical fac ...

in 1935. She returned to Europe for further postgraduate training in endocrinology after

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. On the return voyage to New Zealand in 1946 she took a position as ship's doctor on the ''Port Philip''. Gurr was an advocate for general practice and for the role the general practitioner played in family welfare. She believed "that general practitioners are the guardians of families in New Zealand" and "that the general practitioner should be more than a medical advisor and be able to provide wide counsel and assistance in a diversity of areas". She became an honorary fellow of the

Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners The Royal New Zealand College Of General Practitioners (the College) is a professional body and postgraduate educational institute that sets standards for general practice in New Zealand, providing research, assessment, ongoing education, advoc ...

in 1983. She was a supporter of

St John Ambulance St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...

and had an interest in animal hospitals and veterinary work. She was a life member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Gurr died at her home in

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

, Auckland on 12 December 1996, aged 100.

Legacy

Gurr endowed two chairs in general practice to strengthen the discipline of general practice: one at the University of Otago in 1983 and one at the University of Auckland in 1988. She also endowed a ward at a

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

rest home in Browns Bay, Auckland.

References

External links

Interview with Dr Eily Elaine Gurr at Alexander Turnbull Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurr, Eily Elaine 1896 births 1996 deaths New Zealand women medical doctors People from Wellington City New Zealand centenarians New Zealand obstetricians New Zealand gynaecologists Women centenarians People educated at Woodford House People educated at Wellington Girls' College University of Otago alumni