# Constance Frost

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{{short description|Doctor, bacteriologist, pathologist}}{{Infobox person/Wikidata|fetchwikidata=ALL}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
'''Constance Helen Frost''' (23 June 1862 – 29 January 1920) was a New Zealand medical doctor, bacteriologist and pathologist. 

== Early life ==
Frost was born in 1862, probably in [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool), England, the second of eight children of wealthy shipowner and merchant Thomas Frost and his wife Mary Ann, {{Nee}} Antwis.<ref name=":3">{{CiteQ|Q104657105}}</ref> She was educated at a boarding school in [Sutton Coldfield](/source/Sutton_Coldfield).<ref name=":3" /> Her family moved to New Zealand when she was about 17 years old, settling in [Onehunga](/source/Onehunga).<ref name=":0">{{DNZB|last=Anderson|first=Kathleen|id=3f14|title=Frost, Constance Helen|accessdate=27 September 2019}}</ref>

== Career ==
In 1889 Frost enrolled at [Auckland University College](/source/Auckland_University_College), and received her BA in 1892.<ref name=":3" /> She later enrolled in the [University of Otago Medical School](/source/University_of_Otago_Medical_School), and graduated with [MB, ChB](/source/Bachelor_of_Medicine%2C_Bachelor_of_Surgery) in 1900, alongside [Alice Woodward](/source/Alice_Horsley), [Daisy Platts](/source/Daisy_Platts-Mills), and [Jane Kinder](/source/Jane_Kinder).<ref name=":0" /> Women doctors did not find it easy to gain positions, but [Adelaide Hospital](/source/Royal_Adelaide_Hospital) had severe staff shortages (see [Margaret Graham](/source/Margaret_Graham_(matron))), so Frost was able to move to [South Australia](/source/South_Australia) and gain a temporary residency position.<ref name=":0" /> In 1902, Frost was appointed as assistant [bacteriologist](/source/Bacteriologist_(Professional)), in charge of the laboratory for 18 months.<ref name=":0" /> 

In 1903 Frost returned to New Zealand and set up her own practise as a doctor,<ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201835856/the-'hidden-figures'-of-new-zealand-science |title=The 'hidden figures' of New Zealand science |date=8 March 2017 |work=Nine to Noon |publisher=RNZ |accessdate=6 August 2017}}</ref> and became an honorary bacteriologist and [pathologist](/source/pathologist) at [Auckland Hospital](/source/Auckland_Hospital). Taking over from [Alice Horsley](/source/Alice_Horsley), Frost was the second woman to hold this position.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Constance Frost|url=https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/150th-anniversary/150-women-in-150-words/1867-1917/constance-frost/|access-date=2021-02-05|website=Royal Society Te Apārangi}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> For the first ten years of her employment at the hospital, Frost was the only woman physician.<ref name=":3" /> Despite acknowledging Frost's skill as a bacteriologist, Auckland Hospital continued to advertise for a male replacement and renewed her temporary honorary position annually for fifteen years before finally upgrading it.<ref name=":2" /> In 1911 a senior resident, Charles Maguire, who was not accepting of women doctors, was appointed. Despite this, support from [Dr Florence Keller](/source/Florence_Keller), who was the sole woman member of the Auckland Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, resulted in a small honorarium for Frost from 1913, in recognition of her  increased workload, which would have impacted her income through private practice.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> Eventually, in 1918, Frost's position became full-time and she was paid £500 per year.<ref name=":0" /> When Frost died in 1920 the man who replaced her was paid double.<ref name=":2" />

== Death ==
Frost remained unmarried.<ref name=":0" /> She died at home in Auckland on 29 January 1920 after contracting influenza through her work.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal|date=1920|title=Dr Constance Frost|journal=New Zealand Medical Journal|volume=19|page=28}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> She is buried in the [Purewa Cemetery](/source/Purewa_Cemetery) in Auckland with other members of her family.<ref name=":3" /> 

In 2017, Frost featured as one of the [Royal Society Te Apārangi's](/source/Royal_Society_Te_Ap%C4%81rangi) [150 women in 150 words](/source/150_women_in_150_words), celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.<ref name=":2" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frost, Constance Helen}}
Category:1862 births
Category:1920 deaths
Category:20th-century New Zealand women medical doctors
Category:20th-century New Zealand medical doctors
Category:Medical doctors from London
Category:New Zealand bacteriologists
Category:New Zealand pathologists
Category:Women microbiologists
Category:University of Otago alumni
Category:British emigrants to New Zealand
Category:Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic
Category:Burials at Purewa Cemetery

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Constance Frost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_Frost) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_Frost?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.