Shirley Tonkin

Paediatrician and infant death syndrome researcher

Shirley Tonkin

OBE

Born|

Shirley Lyford Curtis

(1921-06-06)6 June 1921

Stratford, New Zealand

Died| 27 January 2016(2016-01-27) (aged 94)

Auckland, New Zealand

Alma mater| University of Otago
Known for| Sudden infant death syndrome research
Spouse|

John Carvossoe Stephen Tonkin

(m. 1947; died 1988)​

Scientific career
Fields| Paediatrics

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

## Early life and family

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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]

## Medical career

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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]

## Honours and awards

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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]

## Death

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

## References

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1. ^ a b "Oswald Maberley & Catherine Curtis". Retrieved 29 January 2016.
2. ^ a b c "Shirley Tonkin (nee Curtis)". Samuel Marsden Collegiate School. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
3. ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: T". Retrieved 29 January 2016.
4. ^ a b c Feek, Belinda (29 January 2016). "Prominent cot death researcher and paediatrician dies". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
5. ^ "No. 50155". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 15 June 1985. p. 2.

*[m.]: married