Shirley Joan Chapple

Shirley Joan Chapple (10 March 1934 – 22 May 2013) was New Zealand's first female plastic and hand surgeon. She was also a photographer and author.

Early life and education Chapple was the middle child of five children of Kingsley and Winifred Chapple. Chapple and her siblings were educated at Te Matai Primary School in the Bay of Plenty, where Kingsley Chapple was headmaster. Chapple was a cousin of Maurice Gee. Chapple went on to Te Puke High School, and Epsom Girls' Grammar School.

She completed a year at the University of Auckland before being accepted to the medical school at the University of Otago. Chapple excelled, being awarded the Stanley Wilson Prize when she graduated with distinction in surgery in 1957. She was one of nine female graduates among more than 90 students.

As the only woman surgeon, Chapple was unable to attend the regular meetings of the surgical fraternity, which took place at the male-only Northern Club. Her exclusion was made worse when she became an unmarried mother in 1972. She was denied maternity leave and dismissed from her post, which occasioned public controversy.

Chapple died on 22 May 2013, and was survived by her daughter and granddaughter.

In the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours, Chapple appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to medicine and the community.

Publications

The management of soft tissue conditions and injuries : philosophy, principles and practice : a handbook for the care of wounds, 1991, Auckland; Allen & Hanburys Scarred for Life, a 1987 DVD co-authored with David Clark and the Lopdell Centre, on the dangers of amateur tattoos. Suturing of Wounds, Ingrowing toenails, and Crush Injuries and Complex Lacerations, 1983 video tapes produced by the Audiovisual Centre, University of Auckland