This is the fascinating story of a group of North Queensland women who tirelessly devoted their lives to the service of others, but have largely been forgotten by the communities in which they lived and worked. Even though doctors thought many midwives were mischievous and meddlesome, and actively sought to eradicate them, it was women who dominated in the provision of midwifery services in the North. It was midwives who built and operated private general hospitals and conducted lying-in hospitals from their own homes, all before the advent of government-funded maternity hospitals. This book examines the courageous lives of the women who quietly went about their duties with dignity and grace, though they were often faced with the same challenges as their patients – the perils of childbirth, loneliness and isolation, and frequent tragedy. –Back cover.