Roberta Henrietta Margaritta Jull (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Stewart, 16 August 1872 in

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

– 6 March 1961 in

Subiaco, Western Australia Subiaco (known colloquially as Subi) is an inner- western suburb of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is approximately west of Perth's central business district, in the City of Subiaco local government area. Historically a working-c ...

) was a medical doctor who, spurred by poor living conditions and high infant mortality, worked towards social reform.

Early life

Roberta Stewart was born in Glasgow, the second of four children of Isabella Henrietta (née Fergusson) and Robert Stewart, a minister of the

Free Church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fro ...

in Lisbon. Roberta was educated in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, returning to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

to care for her mother, who died in 1890. Her father encouraged her to achieve her educational ambitions in medicine, and, following her elder brother, with another brother attended Glasgow University. Women were excluded from lectures for male students, instead attending Queen Margaret College and the Royal Infirmary. She graduated MB CM (Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery) in 1896, having spent an extra year studying eye diseases, then joined her brothers' medical practice at

Guildford, Western Australia Guildford is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, 12 km northeast of the city centre within the City of Swan. Guildford was founded in 1829 as one of the earliest settlements of the Swan River Colony. It is one of only three towns in the ...

. Here she became dismayed by the living conditions and high infant mortality among her patients. In 1897, having become a member of the influential

Karrakatta Club The Karrakatta Club is a female-only women's club in Perth, Western Australia. Established in 1894, it was the first women's club in Australia. History The Karrakatta Club was founded in 1894 by members of the St George Reading Circle. The St G ...

, she became the first woman to establish a practice in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, taking a leading part in improving the standard of women's and infant health services in the state and becoming a respected force and agitator for social reform. In 1898, she was as a founding member of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

, Western Australian Branch. Close associates included

Edith Cowan Edith Dircksey Cowan (' Brown; 2 August 18619 June 1932) was an Australian social reformer who worked for the rights and welfare of women and children. She is best known as the first Australian woman to serve as a member of parliament. Cowan h ...

and Lady Onslow. The group of well-connected and wealthy ladies actively petitioned the government for women's and social reform issues, establishing several reformist organisations. In 1898 she married Martin Jull, Under Secretary for the Public Works Department and afterwards the state's first Public Service Commissioner for Western Australia. Her only daughter,

Henrietta Drake-Brockman Henrietta Drake-Brockman (27 July 1901 – 8 March 1968) was an Australian journalist and novelist. Early life Henrietta Frances York Jull was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1901 to public service commissioner Martin Edward Jull (1862–1 ...

, was an Australian novelist and playwright. In 1916 Jull became a member of the Senate for the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

. She became chief medical officer for schools at the Western Australian Public Health Department in 1925 and in 1930 was a member of the Australian delegation to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by ...

congress. Jull retired from public activities in 1945 owing to increasing deafness; she died in 1961 at Subiaco, and her ashes were scattered over her husband's grave. Jull Place in the Canberra suburb of Chifley is named in her honour.

References

Patricia Sholl Church, 'Jull, Roberta Henrietta Margaritta (1872 - 1961)'
'' Australian Dictionary of Biography'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Jull, Roberta Medical doctors from Perth, Western Australia 1872 births 1961 deaths Australian people of Scottish descent Australian public health doctors Women public health doctors 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women