1910 Graduate
Despite Ina Burnman Dugleby being the first woman from a rural background (i.e. not one of the main city centres of education – Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, or Auckland) to graduate with a medical degree in the first era of the medical school, her life has been lost to history. Very little is known about her except that which was reported in the newspapers. Thankfully, because she was an exceptionally gifted student, her studies and career until she stopped practising were well documented, though this says nothing of her experiences.
Her obituary posted in the Auckland Star on 17 February 1930 states that Ina was born in Auckland in 1886 to Walter Alfred Dugleby and Annie Neale.[1] Ina was one of five children, and at some point in their childhood, the family moved to Napier. She attended the local District High School and began to achieve well from a young age. She won “First Class” for attendance in Standard V and a prize for General Proficiency. At the prizegiving, the mayor states that ‘the winner of an attendance prize must have shown a great deal of self-denial and perseverance in coming so regularly’.[2] At the end of 1898, Ina won the prize for Dean Hovell’s Bible Class in Standard VII and she succeeded in achieving a Board Scholarship, with a score of 584.[3] At the end of 1899, Ina won Dux, but was unable to attend the prize-giving ceremony due to an illness. Instead, the Minister for Education, Mr Walker, visited Napier District School in March the following year and presented the award to Ina along with a gold medal from Mr. F. Moeller. The newspaper announced: ‘Mr Walker highly complimented Miss Dugleby … upon her attainments, stating that not only had her honest work borne fruit but it had also set a wholesome example to her fellow workers’.[4] Unfortunately, this same illness had prevented Ina from sitting the scholarship examination. Mr Walker, during his speech, announced that ‘he would give his moral and official support towards securing her a scholarship rendered vacant by one of the winners not taking it up’.[5] It was only at the end of 1900 that Ina was able to sit the examination, and she placed first in the whole district with a score of 757.[6] This scholarship covered her fees for secondary school. In his examination report, Mr Hill of the Education Board wrote: ‘Ina Dugleby of the Napier District School, is an easy first. Her papers throughout are all of an even excellence, and are among the best I have read from a scholarship candidate. She stands alone in her school and the district’.[7] That same year, she once again received the senior scholar prize and she won the Caledonian Society’s medal for achieving dux in the district.[8]
Following this success, Ina moved to Napier Girls’ High School. She passed her matriculation examination in 1902, along with the ‘Prize for Year’s Work’ for Form V, the prizes for English, Languages, Mathematics, Science, and French in Form V, the prize for best Historical Essay, and dux with an academic average of 85.3% at the Girl’s High School.[9] In 1903, at the age of 17 years and 9 months, having only been at High School for three years, Ina completed the medical preliminary examination for the Junior Scholarship. Unfortunately she only obtained the result of “Credit” for the Junior Scholarship, and so she decided to repeat the year and attempt the examination once more. It was the first time a candidate of either sex from Hawke’s Bay had achieved such a high score.[10] In the same year, she sat and passed the Junior Civil Service Examination and achieved the 13th place in the whole of New Zealand.[11] At the end of 1904, Ina sat both tests again. She placed first in New Zealand in the Junior Civil Service Examination and second in the Junior University Scholarship with a score of 3888. She was beaten by William Alexander from Dunedin High School who achieved 4067.[12] With the scholarship, Ina was able to attend university with no fees. She would only need to pay for her board and living costs.[13]
It is unknown why Ina decided to pursue a career in Medicine, but she must have made the decision early since she enrolled in the Otago Medical School as soon as she received notice about the scholarship. Ina travelled down to Dunedin on the express in March of 1905, where she was enrolled to study Medical Intermediate. She achieved a Third Class for Junior Physics and Inorganic Chemistry Lectures; Second Class for Practical Physics, Practical Chemistry (Inorganic), Biology (Medical Course), and Practical Biology (Medical Course); and First Class for Practical Chemistry (Organic).[14] At the end of 1905, she passed the Intermediate Examination for Biology, Physics, and Inorganic Chemistry, and at the end of 1906 she achieved Third Class for Organic Chemistry.[15] In January of 1907, The Medical Committee of the Senate announced that Ina had passed the intermediate examinations and was now progressing to the Medical School. In 1907, she achieved Third Class for Senior Anatomy and First Class for Applied Anatomy and Senior Physiology (Lectures). She completed all the requirements for the First Professional Examination in 1907, the Second Professional Examination in 1908 and the Third Professional Examination in 1909.[16] Having completed all the requirements, Ina graduated as the only woman medical student in her class at the beginning of 1910. The newspaper reported that she was the first girl from Napier to gain this distinction.[17]
At the completion of her studies, Ina obtained a position back in Napier at the clinic of Dr Rosa Collier, another “lady doctor”.[18] They listed their hours in the newspaper for Balclutha, Clinton, Waiwera, Waipahi, and Clydevale. Patients could also phone at Balclutha and Clinton.[19] Ina would perform house visits, for which she had a horse and gig. In May on a particularly foggy evening, one of the horses mistook a turn and drove straight into a barbed-wire fence. The newspaper reported: ‘The doctor sprang out over the wheel, and the groom managed to lift the buggy over the fence, when the pair took fright, and one came over the fence again. The mare that did so was badly cut about the legs. The other horse, which stood quietly on the paddock side of the fence, escaped with a slight injury. Dr Dugleby escaped with a shaking’.[20]
The position was only short-term, and by July 1910 she was doing a locum in the North of New Zealand.[21] After this locum, Ina was appointed public vaccinator for the district of Waikouaiti, Otago. She held this position for two years.[22] Ina became well-liked in the area, and when her position ended, the residents of Waikouaiti threw her ‘an enjoyable social and dance. A presentation was made in the form of a solid silver tea service and try, a cake basket, and fruit dish. Eulogistic speeches were made by the Major and others, who referred to the high esteem in which the guest of the evening was held and the regret felt at her leaving Waikouaiti. Dr. Fowden, with whom Dr. Dugleby has been practising, suitably responded on her behalf. Mrs Backett and other ladies also arranged a pleasant kitchen evening, when Dr. Dugleby was asked to accept numerous useful articles’.[23]
It is not clear why Ina left this position except that she was now engaged to be married to a doctor from Dunedin, Dr. Arthur Stanley Moody. Arthur had graduated from the Otago Medical School in 1892 and completed a Medical Doctorate in 1897. It is unknown how the pair met, but they were married on 17 March 1913 at St Mary’s Church, Dunedin. The newspaper announced: ‘Dr. and Mrs Moody, who are well-known in the south, were the recipients of numerous valuable and handsome wedding gifts’.[24] It is notable that although Ina was also a doctor, the newspaper only referred to her as “Mrs”. After her marriage, the newspapers were silent until her death in February 1930. In her obituary, the newspaper reported that Ina stopped practising due to health complications, and that it was due to these complications that she eventually died.[25] It is, however, suspicious that Ina continually had a job until her marriage, which leads one to question if she was initially expected to stop working due to the societal expectations of the time which believed that marriage was a full-time career.
Contents
Bibliography
[1] “Obituary. Dr I. B. Moody”; Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa: New Zealand Government, “Births, Deaths & Marriages Online.”
[2] “Napier District Schools. Prize-Giving Ceremony.”
[3] “Dean Hovell’s Bible Classes”; “Scholarship Examinations. The Inspector’s Remarks”; “Woodville Examiner.”
[4] “Breaking Up. Napier District School”; “Town Edition.”
[5] “Town Edition.”
[6] “Scholarship Examinations.”
[7] “The Scholarship Results. Inspector Hill’s Report.”
[8] “Napier School Committee. Special Meeting”; “Breaking-Up. Napier Main School.”
[9] “Prize Distributions. The High Schools.”
[10] “High School Successes.”
[11] “Examination Results.”
[12] “Junior University Scholarships”; “Civil Service Examinations.”
[13] Aldis, “The Present Development of Women’s Education in New Zealand.”
[14] “University of Otago. Results of Annual Examination.”
[15] “University of New Zealand. Examinations in Medicine”; “University of Otago. Annual Class Examination.”
[16] “Medical Examinations. Successful Candidates”; “Medical Examinations. Interim Report”; “Personal.”
[17] “Advertisements,” January 28, 1910.
[18] “Personal,” March 23, 1910.
[19] “Advertisements,” March 25, 1910.
[20] “Accidents and Fatalities.”
[21] “Advertisements,” July 20, 1910.
[22] “The Clutha Leader. Balclutha.”
[23] “Personal,” October 21, 1912.
[24] “Personal,” April 2, 1913.
[25] “Obituary. Dr I. B. Moody.”
