Cowie, Helen Stephen (1875–1956)

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Cowie, Helen Stephen (1875–1956)

New Zealand physician. Name variations: Helen Stephen Baird. Born Sept 29, 1875, at Hampden, Otago, New Zealand; died July 8, 1956, at Masterton, New Zealand; dau. of James (minister) and Elizabeth (Stephen) Baird; University of Otago, BA, 1890s; Queen Margaret College, Glasgow University, MB, ChB, 1905; m. James Alexander Cowie (physician), 1908 (died 1941); children: 1 daughter, 1 son.

Believed to have been the 1st woman doctor in Southland, specialized in obstetrics and anaesthetics; began general practice in Invercargill but transferred to Masterton to join husband in private practice (c. 1908); went to England during WWI and worked in civilian hospitals; returned to New Zealand at peak of influenza pandemic (c. 1918); retired from medicine (1945).

See also Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (Vol. 3).

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Cowie, Helen Stephen (1875–1956)

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