Helen Stephen Cowie (née Baird; 29 September 1875 – 8 July 1956) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

doctor, and half of the first wife-and-husband team in general practice in New Zealand.

Early life

Cowie was born in Hampden,

North Otago North Otago in New Zealand covers the area of Otago between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre for astronomy and for glid ...

, New Zealand. She was one of five children (three sons and two daughters) of Scottish immigrants James and Elizabeth Baird, Stephen. Her father was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister and a strong supporter of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

; her mother was a member of the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...

. She grew up in Winton and attended

Southland Girls' High School Southland Girls' High School is a state girls' Year 7–13 secondary school in Georgetown, Invercargill, New Zealand. The school was established in 1879. It is a single-sex state school for years 7 to 13 with a roll of students as of From the ...

, where she was dux in 1892. She went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Otago. In 1898 she and her sister Agnes travelled to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

to study medicine; this was their parents' hometown, and where their older brother William Stephen Baird had also studied. Cowie was thus the first woman graduate of the University of Otago to study abroad for a second degree. The sisters completed their studies at the women's medical school of the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, Queen Margaret Hall, and Cowie went on to work at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

Career

On her return to New Zealand, Cowie set up a medical practice in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

, becoming the first woman doctor to practise in Southland. In 1908, Cowie married James Cowie, who had been a classmate at both Otago and Glasgow. They moved to

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

and set up a medical practice there, becoming the first wife-and-husband team in general practice in New Zealand. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the couple went to England, and Helen worked in civilian hospitals while James joined the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

. On their return, New Zealand was in the midst of the

1918 influenza epidemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

, which many doctors succumbed to. For a time, Helen was the only doctor in Masterton well enough to work. James Cowie died in 1941 and their son Graham, who had worked in the practice with his parents, was posted overseas with the New Zealand Medical Corps. Cowie ran the practice alone until Graham returned in 1945 and she was able to retire. Cowie died in Masterton in 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowie, Helen Stephen 1875 births 1956 deaths New Zealand women medical doctors People from Otago People educated at Southland Girls' High School University of Otago alumni Alumni of the University of Glasgow 19th-century New Zealand people 20th-century New Zealand medical doctors New Zealand general practitioners 20th-century women physicians