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Dr Jessie Scott from Brookside
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TitleDr Jessie Scott from Brookside
DescriptionJessie Scott was the ninth child of David and Mary Scott who were early settlers in Brookside.
The name of their property was Coldwells and the house Jessie grew up in is now owned by the Sunckells.
Jessie attended Christchurch Girls’ High School, then did a medical preliminary at Canterbury University.
Women were not allowed to train as doctors in New Zealand at the time, so she studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
She was dismayed at the lack of facilities for women and felt her presence was barely tolerated.
She became active in the women’s suffrage movement while at university.
She graduated MB and ChB in 1909, MD in 1912 and became resident medical officer at Edinburgh Hospital and Dispensary for Women and Children, then joined the London County Council as assistant medical officer where she worked until 1913.
Jessie returned to New Zealand for a time and was in practice in Auckland.
During the smallpox epidemic of 1913 she was in charge of a large temporary isolation hospital.
When World War One broke out, her friend Ettie Rout asked Jessie to lead the first band of volunteers to help the sick and wounded of the NZ Expeditionary Force in Eygpt.
However, she was also asked to join the Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Foreign Service, and served in their unit in Serbia on the Eastern Front from late 1915.
She was captured, with other members of the unit, by the Austrians at Kresevac and taken under guard to Vienna, then Switzerland, from where they were returned to England.
In 1916 she returned with the unit to the Russian Front, in Romania, where they were forced to retreat to Russia along with the armies and Romanian refugees, in terrible conditions.
For her work with the Serbian Army she was awarded the Order of St.Sava by the Serbian Government.
In 1919 she was attached to the Royal Army Medical Corps in Salonika and also served in France with the Corps.
After the war she worked again as a medical officer for the London County Council until 1922.
Then she returned to New Zealand to work as an obstetrician and gynaecologist, at first at Christchurch Hospital and then in private practice.
She served the Canterbury and West Coast District of the St. John’s Ambulance for many years as lady district superintendent, and was involved with women’s groups such as the Canterbury Branch of NZ Federation of University Women, and the National Council of Women in New Zealand.
In retirement she retained a lively interest in developments in medicine, especially the treatment of women and children.
She visited modern hospitals in several countries and attended conferences.
Jessie enjoyed nature study and painting.
She died at Christchurch on 15 August, 1959.
She never married. A reserved woman, with a great sense of humour, her achievements show her also to have been strong-willed, independent and resourceful.
References: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Volume Three ( 1900 – 1920), 1996
Scott family records
Wendy Dalley
Ellesmere Historical Society
Date31 August 2017SourceThe Ellesmere EchoLocationBrookside
DescriptionJessie Scott was the ninth child of David and Mary Scott who were early settlers in Brookside. The name of their property was Coldwells and the house Jessie grew up in is now owned by the Sunckells.
Jessie attended Christchurch Girls’ High School, then did a medical preliminary at Canterbury University.
Women were not allowed to train as doctors in New Zealand at the time, so she studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
She was dismayed at the lack of facilities for women and felt her presence was barely tolerated.
She became active in the women’s suffrage movement while at university.
She graduated MB and ChB in 1909, MD in 1912 and became resident medical officer at Edinburgh Hospital and Dispensary for Women and Children, then joined the London County Council as assistant medical officer where she worked until 1913.
Jessie returned to New Zealand for a time and was in practice in Auckland.
During the smallpox epidemic of 1913 she was in charge of a large temporary isolation hospital.
When World War One broke out, her friend Ettie Rout asked Jessie to lead the first band of volunteers to help the sick and wounded of the NZ Expeditionary Force in Eygpt.
However, she was also asked to join the Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Foreign Service, and served in their unit in Serbia on the Eastern Front from late 1915.
She was captured, with other members of the unit, by the Austrians at Kresevac and taken under guard to Vienna, then Switzerland, from where they were returned to England.
In 1916 she returned with the unit to the Russian Front, in Romania, where they were forced to retreat to Russia along with the armies and Romanian refugees, in terrible conditions.
For her work with the Serbian Army she was awarded the Order of St.Sava by the Serbian Government.
In 1919 she was attached to the Royal Army Medical Corps in Salonika and also served in France with the Corps.
After the war she worked again as a medical officer for the London County Council until 1922.
Then she returned to New Zealand to work as an obstetrician and gynaecologist, at first at Christchurch Hospital and then in private practice.
She served the Canterbury and West Coast District of the St. John’s Ambulance for many years as lady district superintendent, and was involved with women’s groups such as the Canterbury Branch of NZ Federation of University Women, and the National Council of Women in New Zealand.
In retirement she retained a lively interest in developments in medicine, especially the treatment of women and children.
She visited modern hospitals in several countries and attended conferences.
Jessie enjoyed nature study and painting.
She died at Christchurch on 15 August, 1959.
She never married. A reserved woman, with a great sense of humour, her achievements show her also to have been strong-willed, independent and resourceful.
References: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Volume Three ( 1900 – 1920), 1996
Scott family records
Wendy Dalley
Ellesmere Historical Society
Date31 August 2017SourceThe Ellesmere EchoLocationBrooksideConnections
CollectionHistory of BrooksidePlaceBrooksideOrganisationEllesmere Historical SocietyMore InformationDr. Jessie Scott's entry in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
PlaceBrooksideOrganisationEllesmere Historical SocietyMore InformationDr. Jessie Scott's entry in the Dictionary of New Zealand BiographyAttribution
Researched ByWendy DalleyWritten ByWendy Dalley
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Dr Jessie Scott from Brookside (31 August 2017). Selwyn Stories, accessed 24/06/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/5364