Una Joan Croll (née Holliday; 15 June 1928 – 14 February 2022) was an Australian physician and

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiatio ...

who specialised in

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequency, frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing range, hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hea ...

and

mammography Mammography (also called mastography) is the process of using low-energy X-rays (usually around 30 kVp) to examine the human breast for diagnosis and screening. The goal of mammography is the early detection of breast cancer, typically through d ...

. Outside medicine, she was an environmental activist, one of the 13 women who saved Kelly's Bush in Sydney.

Early life and education

Una Joan Holliday was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, New South Wales, on 15 June 1928. As an undergraduate at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, she competed in rowing. After completing her medical degree in 1952, she briefly worked as a

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

in the Northern Territory but returned to Sydney afterwards. In 1955, she married Frank James Croll, a fellow medical student who specialized in cardiology, and subsequently spent thirteen years as a full-time mother to her four children, delaying her career in medicine till she was 47 years old.

Environmental activism

In the early 1970s, Croll became one of the 13 women environmental activists known as the "Battlers for Kelly's Bush", who campaigned against urban development into a parcel of native

bushland In Australia, bushland is a blanket term for land which supports remnant vegetation or land which is disturbed but still retains a predominance of the original floristics and structure. Human survival in bushland has a whole mythology evolving ...

by the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Seco ...

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of the lower north shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area ...

, a suburb west of Sydney. Their efforts led to the first enforcement of a

Green Ban A green ban is a form of strike action, usually taken by a trade union or other organised labour group, which is conducted for environmentalist or conservationist purposes. They were mainly done in Australia in the 1970s, led by the Builders Labo ...

. This successful preservation of Kelly's Bush paved the way for a number of similar Green-Ban actions, impacting land use and redevelopment plans in and around Sydney. With no further real estate developments permitted on site, Kelly's Bush was later purchased by the government to become public open space, to be cared for by local volunteers known as "Friends of Kelly's Bush", with Croll as the inaugural president in 1996. She later remarked that her participation in saving Kelly's Bush as "the most important thing I ever did." In 2021, she attended the 50th anniversary celebrations the year before her death.

Career in medicine

In 1975, Croll was appointed to run Sydney's Breast Health Screening Program, and she became the medical director of the Sydney Square Breast Clinic in 1978. In 1994, she took a position with the Central Sydney Area Health Service, while continuing as consultant radiologist at the Sydney Square Breast Clinic. Over the years, the clinic developed into a prominent teaching centre in radiology, where Croll, as one of Australia's pioneers of

, promoted the introduction of

breast ultrasound Breast ultrasound is the use of medical ultrasonography to perform imaging of the breast. It can be considered either a diagnostic or a screening procedure. It may be used either with or without a mammogram. It may be useful in younger women, wh ...

and mammography screening, and helped establish the national

breast cancer screening Breast cancer screening is the medical screening of asymptomatic, apparently healthy women for breast cancer in an attempt to achieve an earlier diagnosis. The assumption is that early detection will improve outcomes. A number of screening tests ...

program in Australia. Croll was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the

1996 Australia Day Honours The 1996 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 1996 by the Governor General of Australia, Bill Hayden. The Australia Da ...

for "service to medicine, particularly in the fields of mammography and ultrasound". She then retired in 1997.

Personal life and death

Croll was known as a prolific writer of letters to ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

''. Her letters about the environment and various other issues were regularly published by the newspaper. Joan and Frank Croll were art collectors and the couple were members of an art-buying syndicate of Australian art connoisseurs and investors. Parts of their collection have been donated to art galleries, including a 1976 portrait of Joan painted by

John Brack John Brack (10 May 1920 – 11 February 1999) was an Australian painter, and a member of the Antipodeans group. According to one critic, Brack's early works captured the idiosyncrasies of their time "more powerfully and succinctly than any Aust ...

on display at the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

in Canberra. Joan Croll died on 14 February 2022, at the age of 93. Her husband Frank predeceased her in 2003.

References

External links

John Brack's portrait of Joan Croll
held in the

Portrait interview of Joan Croll
on YouTube
The Battle for Kelly's Bush. A 50th Anniversary Celebration
��Google Arts & Culture, which includes an interview of Joan Croll in a videoclip {{DEFAULTSORT:Croll, Joan 1928 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Australian medical doctors 20th-century women physicians 21st-century Australian medical doctors 21st-century women physicians Australian environmentalists Australian radiologists Australian women activists Australian women environmentalists Australian women medical doctors Officers of the Order of Australia Scientists from Sydney University of Sydney alumni Women radiologists