Hilda Margaret Northcroft (22 April 1882 – 14 June 1951) was a New Zealand medical doctor and community leader.

Early life

Northcroft was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

on 22 April 1882. She attended school in Auckland and studied medicine at the

Edinburgh College of Medicine for Women The Edinburgh College of Medicine for Women was established by The Scottish Association for the Medical Education of Women whose leading members included John Inglis (civil servant), John Inglis, the father of Elsie Inglis. Elsie Inglis went on t ...

, graduating in 1908. She followed this with an LM in

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...

at the

Rotunda Hospital The Rotunda Hospital (; 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 Rotunda entertainment buildings in Parnell Square are no ...

in Dublin in 1911.

Career

Northcroft returned to New Zealand in 1918 as medical officer on the troopship ''Ayreshire'' after practising medicine in England during the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

. She practised obstetrics in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. In addition to her medical practice Northcroft served on many professional bodies. She was the Auckland president of the Association of Medical Women, the Auckland secretary of the New Zealand Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society and a member of the Auckland Hospital from 1938 to 1947. In the community she was active in the National Council of Women, a member of the Auckland District Committee of the Women's War Service Committee and president of the

International Federation of University Women Graduate Women International (GWI), originally named the International Federation of University Women (IFUW), is an international organisation for women university graduates. IFUW was founded in 1919 following the First World War by both British and ...

. She was politically active in the Reform Party and then the

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party (), often shortened to National () or the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand that is the current senior ruling party. It is one ...

. Northcroft died in

Green Lane Hospital Green Lane Hospital may refer to: * Green Lane Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand * Green Lane Hospital, Wiltshire, England {{disambiguation ...

, Auckland on 14 June 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northcroft, Hilda Margaret 1882 births 1951 deaths 20th-century New Zealand women medical doctors 20th-century New Zealand medical doctors People from Hamilton, New Zealand New Zealand obstetricians New Zealand expatriates in Scotland New Zealand expatriates in Ireland Medical doctors from Auckland