Martha Durward Farquharson (1847

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

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– 12 August 1929,

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

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) was an administrator, nurse and private hospital owner.

Biography

Farquharson was the second of eight children born to John Farquharson and Anne Christopherson. In July 1861, they emigrated to Australia. A year later, her mother and a younger sibling died and her father remarried.

Career

When she was 25, she went to England and taught at Mildmay Mission in

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

which was run by

evangelical Anglicans Evangelical Anglicanism or Evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "conversionism, a ...

. In 1884, she entered their three-year nurses' training program at the affiliated Deaconess Nursing House. She returned to Australia in 1885, working as a nurse and was appointed matron of Coast Hospital (later Prince Henry's) at Little Bay. By 1888, she was Lady Superintendent at Sir Thomas Fitzgerald's Private Hospital in Spring Street,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

followed by being Matron at Melbourne's

Alfred Hospital The Alfred Hospital, (also known as The Alfred or Alfred Hospital) is a leading tertiary hospital in Melbourne, Victoria. It is the second oldest hospital in Victoria after Melbourne Hospital which is still operating on its original site. The ...

. Farquharson died in Bendigo, Victoria on 12 August 1929.

Legacy

In her memory, in recognition of her capabilities, the Martha D. Farquharson prize was established and awarded annually to the trainee nurse with the best practical skills in the Bendigo, Alfred and Royal Melbourne hospitals. A tree was planted in the gardens at the Bendigo Town Hall in her memory and to acknowledge Farquharson's work first as matron of Bendigo Hospital and later as a volunteer matron there.

References

External links

Farquharson, Martha Durward (1847-1929), National Library of Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farquharson, Martha Durward 1847 births 1929 deaths Health professionals from County Galway Australian women nurses Australian nurses Irish emigrants to colonial Australia