Diana Manby Mason (née Shaw; 29 July 1922 – 5 June 2007) was a prominent New Zealand medical doctor and obstetrician also active in the anti-abortion movement during the 1970s.

Early life

Mason was born in 1922 the daughter of Frieda Charlotte Manby Shaw and Charles Bertram Shaw. She grew up in

Karori Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, 4 km from the city centre and is one of New Zealand's most populous suburbs, with a population of in History Origins The name ''Karori'' used ...

, Wellington where she attended Karori School and Samuel Marsden College. She had always wanted to be a doctor and attended

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

followed by medical school at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

where she graduated in 1945.

Career

Mason's internship at Wellington Hospital during her final year at medical school sparked her interest in obstetrics. She returned to Wellington Hospital as a house surgeon after graduation but in 1947 joined a

general practice General practice is the name given in various nations, such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to the services provided by general practitioners. In some nations, such as the US, similar services may be describe ...

in Newtown, Wellington. In 1949 she went to England with her husband

Bruce Mason Bruce Edward George Mason (28 September 1921 – 31 December 1982) was a significant playwright in New Zealand who wrote 34 plays and influenced the cultural landscape of the country through his contribution to theatre. In 1980, he was appo ...

and baby daughter to do post–graduate training at the

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital ...

. They returned to New Zealand after three years to live in Tauranga for a year before moving to Wellington where Mason returned to work in the general practice where she had worked earlier. She became Superintendent of the Alexandra Maternity Hospital and Home for Unmarried Mothers, a home for single mothers whose babies would be adopted out. She held this position from 1958 to 1978. Mason was opposed to abortion and was politically active in the anti-abortion movement in particular in the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC); she was SPUC's national president from 1974 to 1976. She was one of several prominent New Zealanders, including Sir William Liley and

Ruth Kirk Dame Lucy Ruth Kirk (née Miller, 28 April 1922 – 20 March 2000) was a New Zealand prominent anti-abortion campaigner. Her husband was New Zealand's 29th Prime Minister, Norman Kirk. Biography Lucy Ruth Miller was born in Taumarunui in 1 ...

, who headed an anti-abortion rally in Wellington in 1974. In the late 1980s she became the second woman to hold the office of president of the Wellington division of the New Zealand Medical Association. She retired at the age of 78.

Recognition

In the 1977 Queen's Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours, Mason was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to the community.

Personal life

Mason met her husband, the playwright Bruce Mason, at Victoria University in 1940. They married in 1945 after Bruce returned to New Zealand from war service overseas and she had finished her medical degree. They had three children, Belinda, Julian and Rebecca. She and Bruce were well known in the arts and culture world in Wellington. She died in Wellington on 5 June 2007.

References

External links

Portrait of Dr Diana Mason in 1978 at DigitalNZ

Presentation of the "Right to Life" petition to the Minister of Health, 26 August 1975
Shows Dr Diana Mason and others from the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Diana 1922 births 2007 deaths New Zealand women medical doctors New Zealand obstetricians University of Otago alumni People educated at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School Victoria University of Wellington alumni New Zealand anti-abortion activists New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand general practitioners New Zealand expatriates in England