Shirley Tonkin

Shirley Lyford Tonkin OBE (née Curtis, 6 June 1921 – 27 January 2016) was a New Zealand paediatrican and sudden infant death syndrome researcher.

Born in Stratford on 6 June 1921,^{[citation needed]} Tonkin was the younger daughter of Nora Bessie Curtis (née Lyford) and her husband, Leslie Ralfe Curtis.^[1] She was educated at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School in Wellington from 1937 to 1938.^[2] She then studied medicine at the University of Otago, graduating MB ChB in 1946.^[3]

She married John Carvossoe Stephen Tonkin on 5 April 1947. The couple had two children.^[1]

After a residency at New Plymouth Hospital between 1945 and 1947, Tonkin then worked in the accident and emergency department at Napier Hospital from 1947 to 1950.^{[citation needed]} A period as a general practitioner from 1950 to 1952, was followed by study at the Institute of Child Health in London, where she completed a Diploma of Child Health.^[2] Returning to New Zealand, Tonkin worked as a medical officer at the Department of Health in Auckland from 1954 to 1978.^{[citation needed]}

Tonkin researched cot death for 30 years, and was recognised as an international expert in the field.^[4] Her work resulted in the formulation of national guidelines for babies' sleeping conditions.^[2] She was the founder of the New Zealand Cot Death Association in 1979, and was credited with renaming "cot death" as "sudden infant death syndrome". A child safety advocate, Tonkin was one of the three researchers who developed a foam insert for children's car seats to reduce the risk of choking to infants.^[4]

In the 1985 Queen's Birthday Honours, Tonkin was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to medicine and welfare.^[5]

Tonkin died at her home in Auckland on 27 January 2016.^[4]