Shirley Tonkin

Shirley Tonkin
OBE
Born Shirley Lyford Curtis
(1921-06-06)6 June 1921
Stratford, New Zealand
Died 27 January 2016(2016-01-27) (aged 94)
Auckland, New Zealand
Fields Paediatrics
Alma mater University of Otago
Known for Sudden infant death syndrome research
Spouse John Carvossoe Stephen Tonkin (m. 1947; d. 1988)

Shirley Lyford Tonkin OBE (née Curtis, 6 June 1921 – 27 January 2016) was a New Zealand paediatrican and sudden infant death syndrome researcher.

Early life and family

Born in Stratford on 6 June 1921, Tonkin was the younger daughter of Nora Bessie Curtis (née Lyford) and her husband, Leslie Ralfe Curtis.[1] She was educated at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School in Wellington from 1937 to 1938.[2] She then studied medicine at the University of Otago, graduating MB ChB in 1946.[3]

She married John Carvossoe Stephen Tonkin on 5 April 1947. The couple had two children.[1] Their daughter, Heather, gave birth in 1985 to a daughter, Felicity Tonkin, fathered by Captain Mark Phillips who, at that time, was married to Princess Anne.[4][5]

Medical career

After a residency at New Plymouth Hospital between 1945 and 1947, Tonkin then worked in the accident and emergency department at Napier Hospital from 1947 to 1950. A period as a general practitioner from 1950 to 1952, was followed by study at the Institute of Child Health in London, where she completed a Diploma of Child Health.[2] Returning to New Zealand, Tonkin worked as a medical officer at the Department of Health in Auckland from 1954 to 1978.

Tonkin researched cot death for 30 years, and was recognised as an international expert in the field.[4] Her work resulted in the formulation of national guidelines for babies' sleeping conditions.[2] She was the founder of the New Zealand Cot Death Association in 1979, and was credited with renaming "cot death" as "sudden infant death syndrome". A child safety advocate, Tonkin was one of the three researchers who developed a foam insert for children's car seats to reduce the risk of choking to infants.[4]

Honours and awards

In the 1985 Queen's Birthday Honours Tonkin was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to medicine and welfare.[6]

Death

Tonkin died at her home in Auckland on 27 January 2016.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Oswald Maberley & Catherine Curtis". Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Shirley Tonkin (nee Curtis)". Samuel Marsden Collegiate School. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: T". Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Feek, Belinda (29 January 2016). "Prominent cot death researcher and paediatrician dies". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Rayner, Gordon (3 May 2012). "Captain Mark Phillips to divorce for second time after falling for 35-year-old Lauren Hough". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 50155. p. 2. 15 June 1985. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
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