Brown, Vera Scantlebury (1889 - 1946)

Vera Scantlebury Brown, commonly known as Dr Vera, was appointed the first Director of Infant Welfare for the Victorian Department of Health in 1926. She remained dedicated to this position until her death. The position was only part-time due to her marriage, a custom of the time when it was considered that married women did not need to work outside the home. Vera Santlebury Brown was honoured with her appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 9 June 1938 for her work in the fields of infant and maternal welfare.

• Scantlebury, Vera (maiden name, 7 August 1889 - 18 September 1926)

Dr Vera returned to Victoria in 1919 and worked in a variety of honorary positions including: honorary anaesthetist at the Women's Hospital (1920-1922), honorary clinical assistant at the Children's Hospital (1920-1924), Honorary physician and surgeon at the Queen Victoria Hospital (1920-1926) and medical inspector Church of England Girls' Grammar School (1920-1946). Dr Vera also was associated with the Victorian Baby Health Centres Association and the Free Kindergarten Union of Victoria. In 1921, Dr Vera was appointed part-time medical officer in charge of the city baby health centres and in 1924 she was became a doctor of medicine. In 1925, together with Dr Henrietta Main, she was sent by the Victorian Government to conduct a survey of the welfare of women and children in New Zealand and Victoria. Their report led to the establishment of the Infant Welfare Division in the Department of Public Health.

Dr Vera married University of Melbourne lecturer (later associate professor) Dr Edward Byam Brown on 18 September 1926, and they had two children. A month following her marriage she accepted the appointment of part-time director of the newly formed Infant Welfare Division. She remained in this position until her death. In 1937, following Dr Vera's report on infant welfare for the National Health and Research Council, the Commonwealth Government allocated 100,000 pounds for the benefit of pre-school children, from the Coronation Commemoration Grant. The Argus newspaper reported on 15 July 1946, in an article 'Death of Dr Vera Scantlebury Brown'
'In 1938 the Australian Association of Pre-School Child Development was established, together with the Lady Gowrie Child Centres. The splendid preventive work carried out at these centres in all states was largely the result of Dr Scantlebury Brown's efforts. She received an OBE in 1938 in recognition of her distinguished work in preventive medicine.
'In 1944 pre-school activities including payment of subsidies to free kindergartens were also placed under her supervision, and her vision and enthusiasm achieved a further success in 1945, when the State Government decided to bring under the Health Department the care of expectant mothers and all children to six years of age.'

Vera Scantlebury Brown died on 14 July 1946, after a long battle with cancer. She is buried in the Cheltenham cemetery.

Chronology

1914 - 1915	Resident Medical Officer of the Melbourne Hospital
1915 - 1917	Resident Medical Officer and Senior Medical Officer of the Children's Hospital Melbourne
1917 - 1919	Attached Royal Army Medical Corps, Endell Street Military Hospital, London, England
1920	Resident Medical Officer of the Women's Hospital, Melbourne
1920 - 1922	Honorary Anaesthetist of the Women's Hospital, Melbourne
1920 - 1924	Honorary Clinical Assistant, Children's Hospital, Melbourne
1920 - 1926	Honorary physician and surgeon, Queen Victoria Hospital, Melbourne
1920 - 1946	Medical Inspector, Church of England Grammar School, Melbourne
1921	Part-time medical officer in charge of city baby health centres
1924	Awarded degree of doctor of medicine
1925	Appointed with Dr Henrietta Main, by the Victoria Government, to report on the welfare of Victorian women and children
1926 - 1946	Director of Infant Welfare Victoria at Department of Public Health

Related People

• Herring, Mary Ranken (1895 - 1981)

Books

• Brown, Vera Scantlebury, Pre-school child : "model exhibit" of sample toys and occupations for children of different ages up to 5 years of age, H.E. Daw, Government Printer, Melbourne, [1943], 2 pp. [ Details... ]
• Brown, Vera Scantlebury, A guide to the care of the young child, infant and pre-school ages: for students of infant welfare, Kate Campbell, Dept of Health, Division of Maternal, Infant and Pre-School Welfare, Melbourne, 1947, 266 pp. [ Details... ]

Journal Articles

• Graham, H Boyd, 'Obituary, Vera Scantlebury Brown', The Medical Journal of Australia, September 14, 1946, pp. 393-395. [ Details... ]

Newspaper Articles

• 'Biographical cuttings (available reading room NLA)'. [ Details... ]
• 'Death of Dr Vera Scantlebury Brown', The Argus, July 15. [ Details... ]

Online Resources

• 'Brown, Vera Scantlebury (1889 - 1946), Biographical Entry', in Bright Sparcs, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, 2002, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/biogs/P001348b.htm. [ Details... ]

See also

• Alexander, Joseph A (ed.), Who's who in Australia 1944, 12 edn, The Herald and Weekly Times, Melbourne, 1944, 906 pp. [ Details... ]
• Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian Dictionary of Biography CD-ROM Volumes 1-12, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 1996. [ Details... ]
• Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, 'Where are the Women in Australian science?', 22 August 2003, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/wisa/wisa.html. [ Details... ]
• Burchill, Elizabeth, Australian nurses since Nightingale 1860-1990, Spectrum Publications Pty Ltd, Richmond (Vic.), 1992, 258 pp. [ Details... ]
• Hutton Neve, M, This Mad Folly: The History of Australia's Women Doctors, Library of Australian History, Sydney, 1980, 174 pp. [ Details... ]
• Lake, Marilyn and Kelly, Farley (eds), Double Time: Women in Victoria - 150 Years, Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood (Vic.), 1985, 476 pp. [ Details... ]
• Radi, Heather (ed.), 200 Australian Women: A Redress Anthology, Women's Press, Sydney, [1988], 258 pp. (Also available at http://www.200australianwomen.com/) [ Details... ]
• Yule, Peter, The Royal Children's Hospital: A History of Faith, Science and Love, Halstead Press, Rushcutters Bay, NSW, 656 pp. [ Details... ]