The Royal Women’s Hospital and the University of Melbourne celebrated the 150th anniversary of the first lecture in obstetrics and gynaecology with a lecture and dinner on 26 March.
The first lecture by Dr Richard Tracy was held in 1865 and marked a turning point for the women of Victoria as it started rigorous academic teaching and practice with improvements in health outcomes for women and babies.
At 5.30pm on Thursday 26 March – the same time the lecture was delivered 150 years ago to a group of fourth-year medical students _ many of Victoria’s leading women’s health experts and academics were at the Doherty Institute Auditorium in Melbourne. They were there to hear the Anniversary Lecture delivered by Professor Emeritus Roger Pepperell.
Professor Pepperell is widely respected for his leadership of the University of Melbourne’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Women’s for over 21 years and for his teaching and published research.
Professor Janet McCalman from the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health and the author of Sex and Suffering: Women’s Health and a Women’s Hospital also addressed around 200 guests at the free lecture.
An Anniversary Dinner at University House followed where guests were entertained by a talk by former University Vice-Chancellor and Professor Emeritus David Penington.
Professor Penington was previously Head of the Department of Medicine at St Vincent’s Hospital and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Melbourne. In 1998 Professor Penington was made Companion of the Order of Australia, and was named Victorian of the Year in 2014.