Neither Mischievous Nor Meddlesome: The Remarkable Lives of North Queensland's Independent Midwives 1890-1940

Front Cover
Trisha Anne Fielding, 2019 - History
This is the fascinating story of a group of North Queensland women who tirelessly devoted their lives to the service of others, but have largely been forgotten by the communities in which they lived and worked. Even though doctors thought many midwives were mischievous and meddlesome, and actively sought to eradicate them, it was women who dominated in the provision of midwifery services in the North. It was midwives who built and operated private general hospitals and conducted lying-in hospitals from their own homes, all before the advent of government-funded maternity hospitals. This book examines the courageous lives of the women who quietly went about their duties with dignity and grace, though they were often faced with the same challenges as their patients - the perils of childbirth, loneliness and isolation, and frequent tragedy.

Other editions - View all

About the author (2019)

Trisha Fielding holds a Master of History degree from the University of New England and is the author of the award-winning blog North Queensland History. Trisha has written more than 120 historical articles for regional Queensland newspaper, the Townsville Bulletin, and her year-long series of talks on ABC Local Radio in 2013 formed the basis for her 2016 book Queen City of the North: a History of Townsville. In 2015 Trisha was a joint winner of the John Oxley Library Award, awarded for her ongoing contribution to sharing the history of North Queensland through her blog and other published works. Trisha has given guest lectures and talks at State Library of Queensland, City Libraries Townsville, Museum of Tropical Queensland, James Cook University, and various community history events; and presented workshops on blogging and historical research and writing for Queensland Writers Centre, State Library of Queensland and James Cook University.

Bibliographic information