Featuring Dr. Lilian Violet Cooper – The very first registered female doctor in Queensland and first female surgeon in Australia.

‘The Mansions’ – a heritage-listed row of six terrace houses was built in 1889 as an investment property for the parliamentarians of the day; Premier Boyd Morehead, Treasurer William Pattinson, and the member for Clermont John Stevenson. It is one of Brisbane’s more unique old buildings and like most, has a fascinating past.

Part of that past was, of course, its residents. Two of which were Dr. Lilian Violet Cooper and her lifelong partner Mary Josephine Bedford. Dr. Cooper became the first registered female doctor in Queensland and the second female doctor in Australia after opening her rooms at The Mansions in 1891.

Dr. Cooper’s career began with much effort and determination, overcoming the discrimination of being a woman in a man’s job.  After studying medicine in London and Edinburgh she traveled to Brisbane in 1891 with Ms. Bedford, joining the Medical Society of Queensland in 1893.

Ms. Bedford, who held an active interest in family welfare and children’s development, was heavily involved in the Playground Association and the Creche and Kindergarten Association. In 1907, The Creche and Kindergarten Association was formed with the purpose of maintaining free kindergartens and day nurseries for the children of Brisbane’s poorer families. Bedford Park in Spring Hill and the Lilian Cooper Medical Centre remain lasting physical markers of Ms. Bedford and Dr. Cooper’s contribution to Queensland’s health and welfare history, respectively. 

While Ms. Bedford was caring for the poor and establishing welfare in Brisbane, Dr. Cooper was busy making a name for herself, becoming the first female recorded registered motorist, and one of the founding members of the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ). She began her notorious driving career replacing her horse and buggy with a 7hp Oldsmobile, which was later upgraded to a four-cylinder Humber.

Dr. Cooper was often seen speeding through the streets of Brisbane (@30 mph) making house calls in her motorcar and earning her the nickname The Yellow Peril by fellow Brisbanites. Yellow for the colour of her car and ‘peril’ for her fast driving.

In 1911 they returned to the U.K. where Dr. Cooper went on to win a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Durham. Both she and Ms. Bedford joined the Scottish Women’s Hospitals in 1915, serving twelve months in Macedonia; Dr. Cooper saved many soldiers’ lives with her surgical skills, and Ms. Bedford bravely transported wounded soldiers from the front line to the hospital in her ambulance. They were both awarded the Serbian Order of St. Sava, fourth class. 

After the war, they returned to settle once more in Brisbane, where Dr. Cooper built up a large and successful practice while Ms. Bedford worked tirelessly in her charity work. In 1926 they bought a house called Old St Mary’s in Main Street, Kangaroo Point, and settled there in semi-retirement.

Dr. Lilian Cooper became a foundation fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1928. She retired in 1941 and died in her home on 18 August 1947. She was buried at the Toowong cemetery where she was joined by Ms. Bedford, in the same grave, just 8 years later.