1. Elinor Catherine Hamlin, AC, FRCS, FRANZCOG, FRCOG was an Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist who, with her husband, New Zealander Reginald Hamlin, co-founded the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, the world's only medical centre dedicated exclusively to providing free obstetric fistula repair surgery to poor women with childbirth injuries.
Catherine Hamlin died in Addis Ababa on 18 March 2020.
Elinor Catherine Hamlin Nicholson was raised in the Sydney suburb of Ryde, at "The Hermitage".
Between 2003 and 2010, Catherine Hamlin established five additional fistula treatment facilities in remote parts of Ethiopia, due to the higher rates of fistula cases due to less access to prenatal and perinatal care.
Catherine Hamlin lived in her cottage on the grounds of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital and remained active in the day-to-day work of the hospital and patient care until her death in 2020.
Reg Catherine Hamlin was actively involved in the activities of the hospital and was a member of its board of trustees until his death in 1993.
Catherine Hamlin has been awarded honorary fellowships in the medical associations of Australia, England and the United States.
On 26 January 1983, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her services to gynaecology in developing countries and on 26 January 1995, Catherine Hamlin was awarded Australia's highest honour, Companion of the Order of Australia.
On 1 January 2001, Catherine Hamlin was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian government for "long and outstanding service to international development in Africa".
Catherine Hamlin is the author of the best-selling book, The Hospital by the River: A Story of Hope, first published in 2001.
Catherine Hamlin appeared on Oprah Winfrey's television show in January 2004.
Catherine Hamlin was among 50 prominent Australians invited by the Governor-General of Australia, Dame Quentin Bryce, to take lunch with Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at Government House, Canberra on 23 October 2011.
In 2019, Catherine Hamlin celebrated the 60th anniversary of her arrival in Ethiopia at a ceremony at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital.
Catherine Hamlin is one of only three people ever to receive this accolade.