Background
Freida Heighway was born on 2 June 1907 to Mr and Mrs F.S. Heighway. She was an only child and grew up in Burwood, New South Wales.
Freida Heighway was born on 2 June 1907 to Mr and Mrs F.S. Heighway. She was an only child and grew up in Burwood, New South Wales.
Heighway attended Methodist Ladies College in Burwood, graduating in 1925. She then attended the University of Sydney and graduated with a Master of Business (1930), Bachelor of Science (1930) and Doctor of Medicine (1939). She graduated Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Science with honours in 1930, and was the first woman Medicine graduate at the University of Sydney to receive the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
Heighway began her medical education as a two-year Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Prince Alfred and North Shore Hospital. Later, she travelled to Manchester, England, to work as a medical resident and trained in obstetrics and gynaecology. In 1932 Heighway moved to England and continued work as a Resident Medical Officer at Street Mary"s Hospital in Manchester.
Upon return to Australia in 1934, Heighway then set up her own private practice in Burwood, New South Wales.
Although her work was centered around Queen Victoria"s Maternity Hospital, she also cared for patients at the Royal Adelaide and Queen Elizabeth Hospitals.