Rita Stang

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Rita Stang
Stang in 1942
Born
Eleanor Margrethe Stang

(1894-06-01)1 June 1894
South Yarra, Victoria, Australia
Died18 July 1978(1978-07-18) (aged 84)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
EducationUniversity of Melbourne
OccupationPublic health professional
Known forInfant health, hygiene
Medical career
ProfessionMedical practitioner

Eleanor Margrethe "Rita" Stang (1 June 1894 – 18 July 1978) was an Australian medical practitioner. She was the senior medical officer for schools in Western Australia and adviser on infant health from 1929 until 1955.

Early life and education[edit]

Eleanor Margrethe Stang was born in South Yarra, Victoria on 1 June 1894, the eldest of the children of public servant and doctor Thomas Newbould Stang and Eleanor Bath Stang (née Eastwood).[1] She attended Presbyterian Ladies' College from 1905,[1] before studying medicine at the University of Melbourne, from which she graduated with an MB BS in 1918.[2] She received a Diploma of Public Health in 1927 from the same university.[3]

Career[edit]

Stang in 1928

After graduation Stang worked alongside her husband as a general practitioner at Port Fairy.[4] She later acted as resident medical officer at public hospitals in Melbourne.[1] In 1925 she was appointed to replace Roberta Jull as medical officer for schools in Western Australia, on a salary of £500 to £600 per annum.[5]

In July 1928 Stang went to England on exchange as medical inspector on the London County Council. While there, she studied hygiene teaching and practice, maternity and child welfare. She also attended a public health conference in Dublin representing the University of Western Australia[6] and was a proxy participant at the congress of the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship held in Berlin in June 1929.[7]

On her return to Perth, Stang was appointed medical supervisor of infant health for the WA Child's Welfare Department, in addition to her school role.[8][9]

In 1933 she was awarded a Bachelor of Medicine (ad eundum gradum) by the University of Western Australia.[10]

Stang gave lectures in Perth and country areas and wrote articles promoting hygiene,[11] effective child-rearing[12] and immunisation against disease.[13] She also pushed for pre-school clinics to be established to care for the health of children between two and school-age.[14]

Stang retired from both of her public service positions in 1955[15] and returned to Victoria where she acted as a locum tenens and also as a ship's doctor.[1]

Personal[edit]

Stang married a fellow doctor, Norman Arthur Albiston, at Auburn Methodist Church, Hawthorn on 10 January 1919.[16] There were no children of the marriage. She petitioned for divorce in 1927 on the ground of desertion.[4]

Stang died in Melbourne on 18 July 1978 and was cremated.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Tamblyn, M., "Stang, Eleanor Margrethe (1894–1978)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 30 May 2021
  2. ^ "Melbourne University". The Age. No. 19, 807. Victoria, Australia. 17 September 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Personal". The Daily News. Vol. XLVI, no. 16, 152. Western Australia. 2 February 1927. p. 5 (Home (Final) Edition). Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ a b "Divorce Court". The Age. No. 22, 431. Victoria, Australia. 25 February 1927. p. 15. Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Items of News". Western Argus. Vol. 42, no. 5723. Western Australia. 21 July 1925. p. 9. Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "A Medical Exchange". The West Australian. Vol. XLIV, no. 8, 129. Western Australia. 6 July 1928. p. 7. Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Women Unite". News. Vol. XII, no. 1, 791. South Australia. 12 April 1929. p. 7 (HOME EDITION). Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Odd Bits About Women". The Dawn. Vol. 11, no. 7. Western Australia. 22 January 1930. p. 2. Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Country News". The West Australian. Vol. XLVI, no. 8, 835. Western Australia. 16 October 1930. p. 3. Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Years of Study Rewarded". The Daily News. Vol. LII, no. 18, 112. Western Australia. 31 March 1933. p. 5 (LATE CITY). Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Infectious Diseases". The Albany Advertiser. Vol. 4, no. 525. Western Australia. 26 October 1931. p. 4. Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "Physiology and Hygiene". Western Mail. Vol. 49, no. 2, 544. Western Australia. 22 November 1934. p. 32. Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "Resistance to Disease". The West Australian. Vol. 51, no. 15, 250. Western Australia. 10 May 1935. p. 8. Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Pre-School Clinics". The West Australian. Vol. 50, no. 15, 072. Western Australia. 11 October 1934. p. 13. Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "Personal Items", The Bulletin, 76 (3922), John Haynes and J.F. Archibald: 10, 13 April 1955, ISSN 0007-4039
  16. ^ "Family Notices". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 22, 623. Victoria, Australia. 1 February 1919. p. 11. Retrieved 30 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
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