The first woman to complete formal training in obstetrics and gynaecology in Queensland

Dr Eva Popper attended Brisbane Girls Grammar School and was awarded the Lady Lilley Gold Medal for Dux of the School in 1951. Dr Popper was the first woman to complete formal training in obstetrics and gynaecology in Queensland and to become a consultant at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Brisbane. During her career, Dr Popper delivered more than 5000 babies,  affectionately nicknamed ‘Proper Popper Products’. 

Born in Vienna in 1934, Dr Eva Popper was the only child of Erma and Felix Popper. The Jewish family escaped from the escalating tragedy in Europe in 1938 before the Nazi occupation, arriving in Australia in February 1939. Eva attended the St Joan of Arc Convent in Brisbane where she was taught to speak English by the nuns, and her father took up work at a local cardboard factory, and for many years the family lived under the factory manager’s house.  

Eva attended Brisbane Girls Grammar School in 1948 and excelled academically. After graduating, Eva studied medicine in 1952 at the University of Queensland with the intention of becoming a paediatrician; however, in fifth year she was introduced to the labour ward and her lifelong love for obstetrics was born. In 1957, Eva completed her Specialist Degree in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and was appointed a Teaching Registrar in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Royal Brisbane and Royal Women’s Hospitals in 1960, becoming the first woman in Queensland to be granted a position in the specialty. 

In 1964, she conducted an antenatal clinic at Moorooka and became a visiting obstetrician to the Royal Women’s Hospital, where she worked until 2011. Initially, referrals from general practitioners were slow, but in time her reputation as a clinician would be recognised, and the gendered prejudice was gradually overcome. In the 1960’s obstetrics and gynaecology was a male dominated field, and in an interview, Eva said she believes she gained her position by default since two male members of the Board were away at the time. Notably, she was the first woman to train at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in Brisbane, the first female Consultant in Obstetrics in Brisbane, and also the first female Consultant in Obstetrics in Brisbane. 

Over the years Eva would teach thousands of medical students, residents and registrars. Eva enjoyed teaching and offered her students insight into the practical considerations involved in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and in 1967, she was involved in the first intrauterine transfusion in Queensland. Eva’s particular interest was in the Rhesus factor problem. In 1973, she became a visiting gynaecologist to the Royal Brisbane Hospital.  

Judaism was central to Eva’s life, and she was an active member of the Jewish Community in Brisbane. Eva regularly manned the phones for the annual Jewish National Fund (JNF) Green Sunday Appeal raising money for JNF projects in Israel and was a dedicated and tireless Blue Box collector for well over 20 years. Eva served on the Board of Beit Knesset Shalom for years and was President in 1988-89, and a Service Leader between 1988 and 2017. In 2009, Eva was awarded the Queensland State Zionist Council’s Rabin Award for her services to the Jewish Community and, in 2010, the Union for Progressive Judaism’s Vatik Award for her services as President and for her long commitment to Progressive Judaism. 

Eva had a wide range of interests that included a love of music, the fine arts and literature. She enjoyed bushwalking, birdwatching, playing bridge and travelled extensively throughout her life. Dr Popper retired from full-time practice in 1994, aged 60, but continued to work at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital one day a week until 2011. It was following a trip to Israel in 2015 to see relatives that she was diagnosed with lung cancer, despite never smoking, and lost her battle with cancer in 2019 aged 84. 

Although she never married or had children herself, Eva touched the lives of generations of Queensland families. Eva estimated that in her remarkable 52 years as a clinician, she had delivered close to 5000 babies. After a lifetime devoted to her profession and to the Jewish Community in Brisbane, Eva is remembered for her warmth, sense of humour, and the impact of her diligent care on countless families, colleagues and her community.