Dr Catherine Hamlin - Infinite Women

Born: 24 January 1924, Australia
Died: 18 March 2020
Country most active: Ethiopia
Also known as: Elinor Catherine Nicolson

This biography has been shared from The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, published by the Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology, under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Catherine Hamlin and her husband Reg, both obstetricians and gynaecologists, moved from Australia in 1958, to set up a school of midwifery for nurses at the Princess Tsehai hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They pioneered work to assist and eliminate obstetric fistula, and over the following six decades established the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. Their work was recognised internationally when Reg was awarded an OBE in 1965, when Catherine was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1983, and when Reg was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1989.

After Reg died in 1993, Catherine continued to develop the services, training and the Hospital. Her on-going work was recognised internationally, she was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1995, and was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1999 and 2014.

She founded and was patron of The Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation, an independent charity established to raise funds and awareness for Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia, and to eradicate obstetric fistula.

Chronology
1947 – 1948
Career position – House Surgeon at St Joseph’s and St George’s Hospitals
1948 – 1953
Career position – Senior Resident Medical Officer, Crown Street Women’s Hospital, Sydney
1959 – 1975
Career position – Consulting Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Princess Tsahai Memorial Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
1971
Award – Haile Selassie Humanitarian Prize
1974
Career position – Co-founder of the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
1974 – 1992
Career position – Assistant Medical Director, Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
26 Jan 1983
Award – Member of the Order of Australia (AM) – for service to gynaecology in developing countries particularly in the field of fistula surgery and for humanitarian service to improving the health dignity and self-esteem of women in Ethiopia
1984
Award – ANZAC Peace Prize
1987
Award – Gold Medal of Merit, Order St Gregory the Great, received from Pope John Paul
1989
Award – Honorary Gold Medal, Royal College of Surgeons of England
1992
Award – Distinguished Service Awards from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
1993 – 1997
Career position – Medical Director at the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
1995
Award – Paul Harris Fellowship, Rotary International
26 Jan 1995
Award – Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) – for service to gynaecology in developing countries particularly in the field of fistula surgery and for humanitarian service to improving the health dignity and self-esteem of women in Ethiopia
1998
Award – Rotary International Award for World Understanding
1 Jan 2001
Award – Centenary Medal – for long and outstanding service to international development in Africa
2004
Award – National Living Treasure of Australia