Interview: Cynthia Farquhar talks about Against All Odds

Professor Cynthia (Cindy) Farquhar is the daughter of an early medical woman graduate (Meredyth Gunn; 1952). Cindy trained in medicine and graduated from the School of Medicine at the University of Auckland in 1981. She trained in obstetrics and gynaecology in New Zealand and London and is the Postgraduate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Auckland. Her book, Against the Odds traces the paths of the women who, between the 1880s and 1967 (when the Auckland medical school opened), battled indifference and chauvinism and, later, many of the other challenges that faced women in the professions, to become New Zealand’s first women doctors.

Can you tell us a little about the new book?

The book is about the early medical work graduates from Otago University. There are 7 chapters that are focused around themes telling the stories of medical women and how they changed over the time span of 70 years. Each chapter provides a description of New Zealand society at that time and then at the second half of each chapter there are several condensed biographies that can also be found in the Early Medical Women website.

How difficult was it writing this your first book?

Really hard…I have done a lot of scientific writing which has a certain style. But I had the help of a history graduate (my fellow editor Michaela Selway) and we have had both voluntary and paid  writers who have also contributed to the book writing. 

What research was involved?

It started as a collection of biographies on a website www.earlymedwomen.auckland.ac.n but after we got to more than 100 biographies we thought started to think that the biographies could come together as a book. Initially for the website, we interviewed as many of the living graduates as possible and then we interviewed the families of medical graduates who had already died. For those graduates from the early decades we mostly used information that was already published. But we fortunate in having grandchildren for several of those very early graduates.  Where possible we checked the details provided by checking online – papers past, archives in various libraries, particularly at the University of Otago.

What was your routine or process when writing this book?

No real writing routine, I still have a day job! So for me it was a matter of snatching time in the evenings and on the weekends. We met on line every two weeks for the past 5 years and once the book plan was underway we were more systematically writing and completing biographies.

If a soundtrack was made to accompany the new book, name a song or two you would include.

Hmm, That’s a difficult question. The students (at least in my mother’s years in the mid 1940s) seem to have wonderful balls. The photos make it look like a lot of fun. I imagine them dancing to Glenn Miller and his big band. But really Respect by Aretha Franklin (1967) or I will survive by Gloria Gaynor would be more appropriate. (although that is 10 years after the end of the cohort).

What did you enjoy the most about writing Against the Odds?

The teamwork – everyone helping sort out the details, reviewing and editing the writing, preparing shorter versions of the biographies. And it was always wonderful interviewing the remaining women doctors who are still alive. I am not sure how many we have interviewed but it was always interesting, many sad stories, funny stories, inspiring stories and a sense of what they had achieved. So I loved that. Between all of us we have collected histories all over new Zealand but also England, Australia, Samoa, Israel. The oldest graduate we interviewed was 98.

What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?

Well I am looking forward to sharing it with the  families of the early medical women, my family and friends, and colleagues. We are planning a dinner with the team and the benefactors (Dr Wendy and Bruce Hadden) following the launch. A glass of bubbles probably…

What is the favourite book you have read so far this year and why?

You are here by David Nicholls. I love hiking and this was fun to read. It’s great to read a book that makes you laugh…

What’s next on the agenda for you?

Back to work. My day job beckons – researcher and fertility doctor at www.fertilityplus.co.nz

Massey University