Celebrating the Life of Dr Gwen Pinner

During my first year as the College Archivist, I felt duty bound to take a deep dive into the history of the College. One very important figure, who I feel that I must give voice to, is none other than the College's first female President, Dr Mancell Gwenneth Pinner (1922–1998).

Dr Gwen Pinner RANZCR President 1984-1985

She was one of just eight females to receive their Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 1945 from the University of Melbourne.

An unfortunate bout of tuberculosis took her out of the field for two years, but this ultimately proved to be an inspiration to Dr Pinner. She was appointed to head a survey team in 1949 to examine the incidences of tuberculosis infection in the ACT and in Queanbeyan for the Commonwealth Department of Health.

Not only did this campaign promote awareness of the disease, but it also resulted in Dr Pinner leading a similar survey on Norfolk Island.

Dr Pinner then began working as an assistant radiologist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital under Dr Barbara Wood, along with fellow future College Presidents such as Dr Schubert and Professor Hare. She received her Diploma of Diagnostic Radiology in 1952 from the University of Melbourne.

In 1954, Dr Pinner became the first woman to be awarded the Thomas Baker Memorial Fellowship. She then went on to spend 18 months abroad, in countries such as Great Britain, Sweden, America, Canada and Mexico.

She documents her travels, and her learnings from global radiologists, in the first edition of Australasian Radiology (1957, Vol 1, p 10–20). The knowledge gained, and the hospitality shown to her, were greatly appreciated, and proved to be another inspiration in her career.

Returning home, Dr Pinner worked as a consultant radiologist at the Royal Canberra Hospital. In 1965, she founded Canberra’s first private hospital, the John James Memorial Hospital.

She was elected to the fellowship of the UK Faculty of Radiologists in 1957, and became a Fellow of the College in 1964. Throughout this period, she continued to solidify her position as a leading figure in the field.

From 1984 to 1985, Dr Pinner became the first woman to fill the position of President at the College, which at the time was called the Royal Australasian College of Radiologists. There were approximately 800 qualified radiologists in Australia and New Zealand at the time. Despite the usual brevity of presidential tenure, she faced many challenges, and achieved a number of successful outcomes.

The fallout from the Pennington Inquiry Report, which focused on potential overcharging of medical services, resulted in radiologists being shown in a much more favourable light than had initially been portrayed by the media. The emergence of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and the funding of MRI, was a hotly contested debate, along with discussions around the Medicare rebate.

Dr Pinner retired in 1987, and sadly passed away in 1998.

One anecdote seemed to follow Dr Pinner for her whole life. At the age of four, she was selected to present a bouquet of roses to the Duchess of York at the Opening of Parliament House in 1927. Sixty-one years later, in 1988, Dr Pinner attended the opening of the New Parliament House, where she was presented to the late Queen, Elizabeth the Second. Some may say this was royalty meeting royalty.

Dr Pinner was a pioneer in her field and, I am sure, an inspiration to many.

Natasha Ramrakha | RANZCR Archivist