Central Business District in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia — Oceania

Dr. Constance Stone

Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, July 20, 2026

1. Dr. Constance Stone Marker

Inscription. In memory of Dr. Constance Stone, the first Australian woman to qualify as a medical practitioner. Because Australian medical schools were closed to women, she studied overseas. In 1896, together with some of the first women medical graduates of the University of Melbourne, she established the Queen Victoria Hospital, Melbourne, initially as an outpatients' clinic in St. David's Hall, Welsh Church, LaTrobe Street.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Science & Medicine • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1896.

Location. 37° 48.631′ S, 144° 57.592′ E. Marker is in Melbourne, Victoria. It is in the Central Business District. It is on La Trobe Street 0.1 kilometers east of Queen Street, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 320 La Trobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in Oceania,

in Australasia,

in the Pacific Ocean,

in South Pacific,

on the Pacific Rim,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony.

Other nearby markers. At

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least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Victorian Women Doctors of World War One (here, next to this marker); 375 Queen Street (about 180 meters away, measured in a direct line); Christian Brothers Pioneer School (about 210 meters away); The Gill (about 210 meters away); St. Francis Church (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); The Home of the Historical Society of Victoria (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Panoramic View of Melbourne (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Melbourne 1880 (approx. 0.3 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Melbourne.

Also see . . . Dr Constance Stone Dr Constance Stone was the first woman to be. Victorian Government Website

Emma Constance Stone was born on 4 December 1856, in Hobart. She and her sister were educated at home by their mother, a former governess. Their father was a builder and the family moved to Melbourne in 1872. The family had a Protestant work ethic and believed strongly in the value of education.

Constance was interested in anatomy from a young age but, like many middle class young women, she started her career as a primary school teacher.
Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, July 20, 2026

2. Dr. Constance Stone Marker - the left-most plaque
When she was 28 she went overseas to study medicine as the University of Melbourne did not admit women to its medical course. She studied at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania for three years and in 1888 graduated MD, ChM, with first class honours from the University of Trinity College, Toronto. She then went to London where she worked with the famous Dr Elizabeth Garrett Anderson at the New Hospital for Medicine, a hospital staffed entirely by women for women patients only. This gave her the idea for a similar medical institution in Melbourne.

On her return in 1890 she became the first woman to register with the Medical Board of Victoria. Meanwhile, in 1887, following petitions, Constance's sister Clara had been among the first women to enter the University of Melbourne's medical school and by 1891 was one of the first two women to graduate. The two sisters set up private practice and worked at the free dispensary attached to Dr Singleton's missionary in Collingwood.

(Submitted on September 1, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria.)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 2, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 1, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. This page has been viewed 8 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 1, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.