Daisy Elizabeth Platts-Mills (1868 – 1 August 1956) was a New Zealand medical doctor and community leader. She was the first woman medical doctor in private practice and served on numerous community organisations, particularly those concerned with the health and welfare of women and children.

Early life and education

Platts-Mills was born as Elizabeth Platts in

Sandridge Sandridge is a village and civil parish between the city centre of St Albans ( to the south-west) and Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, England, forming part of the contiguous built-up area of St Albans. History The original name was "Saundruag ...

, Victoria, Australia in 1868, emigrating with her family to

Port Chalmers Port Chalmers () is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre. History Early Māori settlement The or ...

, New Zealand in 1880. She attended

Otago Girls' High School Otago Girls' High School (OGHS) is a secondary school in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was opened 6 February 1871, after a long campaign by Learmonth Whyte Dalrymple. It is one of the oldest girls state-run secondary school in the Southern Hem ...

and the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

Medical School, graduating in 1900. Platts-Mills, Constance Frost and Jane Kinder were the third women medical graduates in New Zealand after

Emily Siedeberg Emily Hancock Siedeberg-McKinnon (17 February 1873 – 13 June 1968) was a New Zealand medical practitioner and hospital superintendent. She was also the country's first female medical graduate. Early life Siedeberg was born in 1873 in Clyde ...

and

Margaret Cruickshank Margaret Barnett Cruickshank (1 January 1873 – 28 November 1918) was a New Zealand medical practitioner who died during the 1918 influenza pandemic. She was the first registered female doctor in New Zealand. Posthumously, she was the first wo ...

Career

Platts-Mills moved to Wellington in 1901 where she established herself as the country's first woman doctor in private practice. In 1912 the King Edward VII Memorial Children's Hospital was opened at Wellington Hospital. The hospital advertised for 'lady physicians' and Platts-Mills and Dr Agnes Bennett were appointed to the positions. She gave up private practice in 1915 to become the first woman medical officer to the Public Service Commission, with responsibility for the health and welfare of women in the public service. As well as her medical career Platts-Mills served on numerous boards and community organisations, particularly those connected with women and children: Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, the

St John Ambulance St John Ambulance is an affiliated movement of charitable organisations in mostly Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries which provide first aid education and consumables and emergency medical services. St John organisations are primari ...

, the

Plunket Society The Royal New Zealand Plunket Trust provides a range of free services aimed at improving the development, health and wellbeing of children under the age of five within New Zealand, where it is commonly known simply as Plunket. Its mission is ...

, the League of Mothers, the Mothers Union, the Women's National Reserve of New Zealand, the YWCA, the Social Hygiene Society and the Independent Order of Oddfellows. She worked for the St John Ambulance as Wellington Divisional Surgeon and was made an officer of the order of St John. She was first president of the Plunket Society in Wellington. Both the Plunket Society and the Social Hygiene Society moved to take practical action on health and social needs from a public health perspective and such groups looked to woman doctors for their professional knowledge and status in dealing with government agencies. Platts-Mills was also very active in her local suburb of

Karori Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, from the city centre and is one of New Zealand's most populous suburbs, with a population of in The name Karori used to be Kaharore and is from th ...

, in particular serving the community during the

1918 influenza epidemic The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest document ...

. Platts-Mills retired in 1934.

Personal life

Platts-Mills married John Fortescue Wright Mills in 1902. They had two sons and a daughter: E.W. Platts-Mills,

John Platts-Mills John Faithful Fortescue Platts-Mills, (4 October 1906 – 26 October 2001) was a British barrister and left-wing politician. He was the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Finsbury from 1945 to 1948, when he was expelled from the party effec ...

who became a

British Labour Party The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been describe ...

politician and barrister, and Adah Platts-Mills who was a doctor. She died in Auckland on 1 August 1956.

Publications

* Platts-Mills, D. (1917). ''Social diseases :'' ''What women should know about them - and why''. Wellington, N.Z.: Dept. of Public Health, New Zealand. *Platts-Mills, D. (1920). ''Gifts''. Wellington .Z. C.M. Banks.

References

External links

Photo of Dr Daisy Elizabeth Platts-Mills, 1913, at DigitalNZ

Biography of Adah Platts-Mills, at The Early Medical Women of New Zealand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Platts-Mills, Daisy Elizabeth 1868 births 1956 deaths Australian emigrants to New Zealand Wellington Hospital Board members People from Port Chalmers University of Otago alumni New Zealand general practitioners People from Port Melbourne People educated at Otago Girls' High School 20th-century New Zealand medical doctors 20th-century New Zealand women medical doctors