Diana Joan "Ding" Dyason (1919–1989) was a highly respected Australian lecturer and historian of medicine with major teaching and life-long research interests in public health and germ theory. She is most notable in the significant impact she had in her scholarly discipline. As a woman who firstly worked in the traditional roles of research assistant and demonstrator in the non-traditional discipline of science, Dyason progressed to become a leader at a major Australian university, overcoming barriers of gender and culture at a national and international level, receiving awards and honors in the process. She broke through the gender-based 'glass ceiling' in the academic workplace to establish and develop the new interdisciplinary field of study of the History and Philosophy of Science that brings together The Two Cultures of the sciences and the humanities.
She was a leader in the development of the new discipline of the History and Philosophy of Science in both Australia and internationally, and she overcame barriers as a woman in the non-traditional academic role of Head of Department and in the difficult cross-disciplinary task of bringing together the arts and sciences.
Early life
Dyason was born on 10 July 1919 in Sandringham, Melbourne to wealthy influential parents, the second child of Edward Clarence Evelyn Dyason and Anne Elizabeth, née McClure, whom she described as 'sophisticated, free-thinking and rather unusual people'. Her father was a successful businessman, mining engineer and humanist with a strong belief in the power of reason, who enjoyed the company of academics, including his brother-in-law, Sir Ernest Scott, a professor of history at the University of Melbourne. She applied herself to her academic studies, especially science, as a boarder at Melbourne Church of England Girls' Grammar School from 1928 to 1937. From an early age she stood out as an independent thinker and was known for her lack of respect for authority. She recalled of her family life "that I wasn't to do something just because it 'wasn't the proper thing for a girl'. I was free to do anything my elder brother did, provided I'd reached the requisite size and muscle power". Another recollection was that she developed her life-long love of poetry while at school, especially during detention when she was required to memorize poetry as well as prose passages.
Professional life
At the University of Melbourne Dyason majored in physiology and bacteriology, gaining a B.Sc (Hons) in 1943 and M.Sc. in 1945 with first class honours and an exhibition. She was a resident of University Women's College from the beginning of her studies in 1938, and later became a committed member of the council (1945-1952) and eventually was appointed the governor (1961). She was first employed in 1943 as a demonstrator in the Physiology Department of the University of Melbourne while she carried out her M.Sc research. Her research on malaria led her to work with Professor (Sir) Douglas Wright, firstly as a research assistant and then in 1947 as a senior demonstrator in the Department of General Science. In 1949 she was employed as lecturer in the new Department of History and Methods of Science that was created under Wright's leadership. Dyason was assigned to teach first year medical students in a compulsory but non-examinable course, a difficult task that she nevertheless turned into a memorable experience for them.