Dr Ida Birchall (1924) MBE Dr Ida Birchall (1924) (BSc, MBBS, FRCS, FRCOG) worked tirelessly for women with gynaecological problems and with mothers and babies, starting practice in a time when there were no antibiotics, proper anaesthetics or sophisticated drugs. She was one of Tasmania’s first female doctors, the first female doctor to be in charge of ante-natal and post-natal clinics, and was the first member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Tasmania. Ida was born in Launceston, Tasmania and enrolled as a Boarder at Â鶹ÊÓƵ School in 1923 to complete the Leaving Certificate1. In her final year at Â鶹ÊÓƵ School, Ida was a Prefect, a member of the ‘A’ Tennis Team, the 1st Hockey Team, and was the Sports Treasurer. After school, Ida attended the University of Sydney where she first attained a Bachelor of Science degree and then went on complete degrees in medicine, achieving in 1933 an MBBS and winning the Dagmar Berne Prize2. Ida worked at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in 1933 and the Royal Hospital for Women in 1934. She became the first Tasmanian member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1936. She furthered her medical career with appointments at prestigious hospitals in the United Kingdom: St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester from 1934–1936 where she was the house-surgeon in the gynaecological department, and the Women’s Hospital, Nottingham from 1936–1938. With the outbreak of WW2 Ida returned to Tasmania and commenced her life’s work in private practice with her close friend Dr Devenish-Meares. She was appointed as the Honorary Consultant to the Queen Victoria Hospital Launceston and the Launceston General Hospital in 1939, retaining the position until 1966. Ida was a member of both the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Australian Medical Association (AMA), she was chairman of the northern division of the Tasmanian Branch of the AMA in 1964 and had served as honorary secretary of the northern division of the Tasmanian branch of the BMA from 1944–1945. In 1969 Ida was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to medicine. Ida Birchall Crescent in MacGregor, ACT is named in her honour as is the Ida Burchill Library in Launceston which exists to ‘support and encourage spiritual growth’ and is available for the use of ‘Christian Communities and the wider public communities’. 1. The Leaving Certificate was the precursor to the HSC/IB. 2. The Dagmar Berne Prize is a University of Sydney prize awarded to the woman with the highest marks in her final year of Medicine.