Suckling, Sophia Lois (1893–1990)

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Suckling, Sophia Lois (1893–1990)

New Zealand optician and family planning reformer. Name variations: Sophia Lois Anthony. Born Aug 12, 1893, in Bondi, Sydney, Australia; died June 20, 1990, in Auckland, New Zealand; dau. of Stephen Anthony (formerly Nowinsky) and Clara Emma (Ackland) Anthony; m. Walter Edgar Suckling (optician), 1914 (died 1944); children: 5.

Became 1st woman in New Zealand to qualify as registered optometrist (1924); helped found Sex Hygiene and Birth Regulation Society (now New Zealand Family Planning Association, 1936); active in Wellington branch of National Council of Women of New Zealand; founding member of Soroptomist International; active in Friends of the Soviet Union and Fabian Society; after husband's death, practiced in England for 18 years.

See also Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (Vol. 4).