Grace Clara Stone (1860 - 1957)

Born 12 Jan 1860 in Hobart, Tasmania

Died 10 May 1957 at age 97 in St Kilda, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Clara Stone is Notable.

Clara Stone was born in Tasmania, Australia

Medical practitioner. Born on 12 January 1860 in Hobart Town, daughter of William Stone, builder, and Betsy née Haydon. The family moved to Melbourne in 1872. Educated chiefly at home by their mother, a former governess.

In 1887 the University of Melbourne allowed women to enter its medical school and Grace was one of seven whose requests for admission had led to this change. She started her degree that year and in 1891 became one of the first two women to graduate in medicine from the university. She then went into private practice with Constance and joined her at the free dispensary.

Grace's sister, Constance's home, was the venue for the first meeting in March 1895 of the Victorian Medical Women's Society. Grace was the first president. At a meeting held on 5 September 1896 eleven women doctors decided to set up a hospital of their own. The Queen Victoria Hospital, funded by a jubilee shilling fund appeal, evolved and was officially opened in July 1899. Clara remained on the honorary staff of the Queen Victoria Hospital until 1919 and, after retiring from this position, continued in private practice in St Kilda.

She died, unmarried, at her St Kilda home, on 10 May 1957 and was cremated.

Sources

• Government of Victoria. Victoria Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages (accessed 16 Jul 2023). Death Index. Index entry for Grace Clara STONE. Mother's name: Betsy; Mother's family name at birth: HAYDON; Father's name: STONE William; Place of Birth: HOBART TASMANIA; Place of death: ST KILDA; Age at Death: 97; Reg. year: 1957; Reg. number: 5614/1957
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Stone
• Penny Russell, Stone, Grace Clara (1860–1957), Australian Dictionary of Biography,1990, accessed 22 January 2024.