1. Phyllis Dorothy Cilento, Lady Cilento was an Australian medical practitioner, prominent medical journalist, and pioneering advocate of family planning in Queensland.
22 Facts About Phyllis Cilento
1. 2.
Phyllis Cilento was the daughter of merchant and exporter Charles Thomas McGlew and Alice Lane.
3.
Phyllis Cilento grew up in Adelaide, South Australia, and was educated at Tormore House School.
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Phyllis Cilento was knighted in 1935 whilst holding the position of Director-General of Health and Medical Services.
5.
Phyllis Cilento died on 26 July 1987 in Brisbane and was buried in Pinnaroo Lawn Cemetery.
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Phyllis Cilento studied medicine at the University of Adelaide, graduating in 1919.
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Phyllis Cilento was the only woman in her graduating class.
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Phyllis Cilento worked for a short time at the Adelaide Hospital, the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London and the Marylebone Medical Mission Dispensary.
9.
In 1922, Phyllis Cilento studied a course in public health at the University of Sydney.
10.
Phyllis Cilento worked in the Hospital for Sick Children in Brisbane from 1931 to 1938, after which she moved into general practice working from a surgery attached to her home in Annerley with a special interest in the health of mothers and children, including obstetrics.
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Phyllis Cilento became well known through her active advocacy of health issues for women and children.
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Phyllis Cilento was particularly interested in promoting good nutrition and raising children.
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Phyllis Cilento expanded her outreach through books and radio, and was widely respected by women for her practical advice.
14.
Phyllis Cilento was a strong advocate of the benefit of vitamins.
15.
Dr Phyllis Cilento had used alpha-tocopherol to soften scar tissue in her patients, noting that vitamin E restored circulation to dead-looking toes.
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Phyllis Cilento's travels took her to Singapore, Germany, Britain and North America, where she interviewed doctors and veterinarians who used vitamin E in large doses.
17.
At the age of 82, Phyllis Cilento continued writing a health column for The Courier-Mail.
18.
Dr Phyllis Cilento was active in medical organisations, including the inaugural president of the Queensland Medical Women's Society in 1929.
19.
Phyllis Cilento pursued her particular passion for mothers and children through the establishment in 1931 of the Mothercraft Association of Queensland in 1931, the Family Planning Association of Queensland, and her membership of Creche and Kindergarten Association of Queensland.
20.
Phyllis Cilento was active in women's organisations, including the National Council of Women of Queensland, the Business and Professional Women's Association and the Lyceum Club.
21.
Phyllis Cilento is the subject of a number of portraits; one by John Rigby is held in the Queensland Art Gallery.
22.
Phyllis Cilento was known to be fiercely intolerant of homosexuality, stating homosexuals were part of a "cult" and a "malignant tumour" on society.