Constance Elizabeth D'Arcy

Dame Constance Elizabeth D'Arcy (1 June 1879 – 25 April 1950) was an Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist. She was Deputy Chancellor at the University of Sydney from 1943 until 1946. In 1935, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).

Early life and education D'Arcy was born on 1 June 1879 at Rylstone, New South Wales, the fifth daughter to parents Bridget ( Synnott) and Murtagh "Murty" D'Arcy, a police sergeant. She attended Rylstone Public School and Riviere College, Woollahra. and went on to do her residency at the (Royal) Adelaide Hospital, because the teaching hospitals in Sydney did not accept women at the time.

At the Senate at the University of Sydney, D'Arcy supported the proposal to make St Vincent's Hospital a teaching hospital and served as honorary gynaecologist from 1923 until 1945.

Personal life and death For many years, two of D'Arcy's sisters kept house for her. She died of cerebrovascular disease at Sacred Heart Hospice for the Dying, Darlinghurst, on 25 April 1950. After the requiem mass at St Mary's Cathedral, she was buried in Waverley Cemetery. To commemorate her service at the Royal Hospital for Women, a ward was named after her.

Awards and honours In 1935, D'Arcy was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for 'services in connection with maternal and child welfare in the Commonwealth of Australia'.