Theodora Clemens (Easterfield) Hall FRACP (1902-1980)

Dr Theodora Clemens (Theo) Hall FRACP formerly Easterfield

Born 12 Jun 1902 in Wellington, New Zealand

Ancestors

Daughter of Thomas Hill Easterfield KBE and Anna Maria Künigunda (Büchel) Easterfield

Sister of Margaret Anna Easterfield, Beatrice Mary Easterfield, Muriel Helen (Easterfield) Deem OBE and Thomas Edward Easterfield

Wife of Richard John Burnside Hall — married 22 Nov 1932 in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

[children unknown]

Died 19 Dec 1980 at age 78 in Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

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Biography

Theo (Easterfield) Hall FRACP is Notable.

Dr Theodora Clemens Hall, M.B. Ch.B. MRCP (London) FRACP, was a medical doctor who had a distinguished career in hospital service^[1].

Early Life

Theo (Easterfield) Hall FRACP lived in Wellington City, Wellington, New Zealand.

Theodora Clemens (known as Theo) was born on 12 June 1902^[2] at Wellington, New Zealand. She was the fourth daughter of Thomas Easterfield and Anna Büchel.

She went to school in Wellington with Miss Frances in Botanical Road^[3] (as her sister Helen had done too). There she took part in an operetta in 1910 as a "Forget-me-not". She also took part in a fancy dress ball as the end-of-year function with Miss Violet Warburton in 1910^[4]. She went as a pierette.

Her secondary education was at Wellington Girls' College^[1]. She did well in sports, including swimming, tennis and hockey. In March 1914 she and her sister Helen won the Combined Swimming Race in the Wellington Girls’ College swimming sports at the Thorndon baths^[5]. They repeated that feat in 1916^[6]. In 1917 she was junior swimming champion and her sister was joint senior champion^[7]. Her sister and she were both in the Wellington B Hockey team in 1918^[8]. She was tennis champion in 1919^[9].

She studied at Victoria University College^[10], then followed her sister to the University of Otago to study medicine, graduating MB, ChB in 1925 . She was immediately accepted as a house surgeon at Wellington Hospital. But because there were no women doctors' quarters at the hospital, She undertook locum work until these were made ready.

Dr Theo was appointed to the position of house surgeon at Tauranga Public Hospital in June 1926^[11]. In 1927 she was at Grey Valley Hospital^[12]. In 1929 she accepted a two-year registrar's appointment at Cook Hospital, Gisborne^[1]. In March 1930 her acting house surgeon appointment at the Cook Hospital became permanent^[13].

In 1931 she travelled overseas to King's College Hospital, London, England for postgraduate study, gaining her MRCP (London) in 1932^[10]. She was the "second New Zealand lady to secure that high honour" and at that time she was the" only New Zealand lady doctor in the Dominion to hold that degree". She carried out post-graduate work at King’s College Hospital, acted as a locum tenens, and was medical adviser to the West London Post Office and Telegraph Exchange.

Married Life and Career

On the voyage back to New Zealand she disembarked at Melbourne. On 22 November 1932 she married Richard (Dick) John Burnside Hall at Holy Trinity Church, East Melbourne^[14]. He was the surgeon superintendent at Cook Hospital, and a widower with a young daughter

HALL—EASTERFIELD. The wedding was very quietly celebrated at Holy Trinity Church, East Melbourne, on November 22, of Dr. T. Easterfield, of Nelson (N.Z.), daughter of Dr. Easterfield, director of the Cawthron Institute of Scientific Research, to Dr. Richard HaIl, superintendent of the Gisborne Hospital, New Zealand. Dr. Hall is a grand-nephew of the late Dr. Joseph Henry, formerly of The Elms, Benalla (V.), and the bride has just completed a post-graduate course at King's College Hospital, London. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Canon Crotty, and Dr. Green gave the bride away. Wing-Commander W. H. Anderson (cousin of the bridegroom) was best man, and the bride was attended by her sister. After the service the wedding party drove to Menzies, where wedding breakfast was served.

They had three daughters.

After their marriage, the Halls returned to hospital work at Gisborne where they worked for the next twenty-five years. But she managed to find time for other activities, taking part in a play in June 1933^[15]. She played the part of a vicar's wife in an English comedy, The Lilies of the Field. She looked after her sister's daughter while the latter went overseas to study in 1934^[16].

Her appointment at Cook Hospital was not without controversy seeing that she would be working in a subordinate role to her husband^[17]. But on 20 June 1935, she was appointed Medical Registrar for Cook Hospital^[10]. The Gisborne Times enthused:

Dr. Theo Hall, who was appointed medical registrar by the Cook Hospital Board at yesterday’s meeting, has had an outstanding career and holds higher qualifications than any other New Zealand lady doctor in the Dominion. ... Her practical experience is very extensive, for she has been house surgeon at Tauranga, Greymouth, Wellington, and Cook Hospitals.

Her job was arduous^[1]: she had sole responsibility for all the hospital's specialist medical work, with some help from the Hawke's Bay tuberculosis officer, who visited quarterly. Lacking colleagues of similar seniority to consult, she was forced to read widely in current medical literature. Her advice was often sought by local practitioners, who sometimes attended her ward rounds as a form of refresher course. Her diagnostic skills in particular were regarded as outstanding.

Her devotion to her patients is seen in the many tributes paid to her in the Bereavement Notices in the Gisborne Herald on Papers Past.

Her strong sense of duty to patients is illustrated by a story told by a former colleague^[1].

On one occasion Theo and her husband had planned a rare evening out. Just as they were about to depart, a 10-year-old girl was admitted with a life-threatening meningococcal infection. Theo immediately took over from her struggling house physician and, changing her long evening gloves for rubber gloves, took the required sample of spinal fluid from the patient. She stayed with the child and her mother until the sample was tested and treatment initiated, by which time it was too late to consider going out.

In 1957 Theo and her husband both retired. In January 1958 they moved to Paihia. However, after a few months Theo accepted the part-time position of visiting physician to the Bay of Islands Hospital at Kawakawa. This was for two days each week. She also attended clinical meetings at Whangarei, took part in seminars at Auckland Hospital, and studied the emerging specialist area of rheumatology. Other activities were not forgotten including time with her family, travel, boating, bird-watching, gardening, cooking and entertaining.

Later Life

Finally, in 1971 Theo Hall was forced to resign from her position at Kawakawa for health reasons^[1]. Her professional advice continued to be sought, and she was a valued counsellor to her friends. She was made an FRACP in 1974.

Theo Hall's exceptional personality, capacity for work, professional competence, teaching skills and regard for patients' needs earned her the respect and affection of all who knew her.

In 1979 Theo suffered a coronary and the same year Dick had a stroke. Although he eventually made a good recovery and lived on until 1986, Theo's health continued to deteriorate.

She died on 19 December 1980^[18] in Auckland Hospital. She was buried in Marsden Cemetery, Nelson^[19].