Her father was a teacher and she attended Sydney Girls' High School where she excelled at botany and English.
She went on to study medicine at the University of Sydney graduating with a first class degree and a prize reserved for women candidates.
[1] In 1941 the future prime minister Ben Chifley received a united deputation from a number of women's organisations.
This suggestion was made in preference to a proposal to introduce a new tax on the total income of married couples.
[3] In 1942 she had made the comment that men returning from the middle east to Australia were infecting women with sexually transmitted diseases.