Dagmar Berne

Georgina Dagmar Berne LRCP FRCSE (16 November 1866 – 22 August 1900) was an Australian medical doctor and the first female student to study medicine in Australia.

Berne sat the university entrance exams the following year, and originally thought she had failed, so decided to set up a private school for girls, to be run by herself and her 16-year-old sister Florence.

[3] Others have suggested that despite immense dedication, Berne struggled to keep up with other students due to her lack of access to secondary education in science subjects.

[3] She sat the exams of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries in 1891 and passed with excellent marks in anatomy and physiology, and proceeded on to the final portion of her studies at the University of London.

While successful at the university, Dagmar often suffered from pneumonia and pleurisy due to her meagre living conditions, and so she decided to return to Sydney once she had completed her education to gain some experience in practice.

This included the loss of the inheritances of Berne and Florence; the sisters' other siblings had been forced to work to support the family, their brother Frederick having to quit school.

[3] The sisters could no longer afford to support themselves while studying, and so Florence, without informing Berne, took a job as a governess based on her teaching experience.

[citation needed] Berne was ultimately diagnosed with tuberculosis, and moved to the rural town of Trundle to stay with family friends, in the hope that the drier climate would be good for her health.