Gladys Dorothy O'Shane
Gladys Dorothy O’Shane | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 September 1919 |
| Died | 29 December 1965 Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
| Resting place | Martyn Street Cemetery |
| Occupation | Indigenous rights activist |
| Spouse | Patrick James O'Shane |
| Children | Five - Pat(F), Margaret(F), Terry(M), Daniel(M), Timothy(M) |
Gladys Dorothy O’Shane (22 September 1919 - 29 December 1965) was an Australian Aboriginal activist, the sixth child of parents Caroline, née Brown, and Edgar Davis, a labourer, at Mossman, Queensland.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Early life[edit]
O'Shane attended primary school and later worked as a domestic servant at Mossman Hospital laundry, and lived with her family at Yarrabah Mission, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.[1][2][3][7] O'Shane married Patrick James O’Shane, a 27-year-old militant trade unionist, wharf labourer, and cane cutter on 26 October 1940 at the Assembly of God Tabernacle, Cairns, and moved to Mossman.[1][2]
O'Shane had two daughters and three sons. Her eldest daughter Pat O'Shane was the first Aboriginal Magistrate in New South Wales, and Chancellor of the University of New England.[1][2][3][4][7][8] Terry, Margaret, Daniel, and Timothy, the children of O'Shane, also contributed to Aboriginal Communities.[3][7]
Honours and Organisations[edit]
O'Shane was the inaugural president of the Cairns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Advancement League (CATSIAL) and addressed the strike meetings of the Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia as a member of its Women Auxiliary wing.[1][2][3][7]
In 1959, O'Shane and her eldest daughter, Pat, became members of the Communist Party of Australia.[1][2][3][7] In 1964, O'Shane was an elected committee member of the North Queensland Committee of the Communist Party of Australia (CPA).[3][7] O'Shane was noted as a "leader in Aboriginal advancement" at the 1966 Annual conference of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.[1][2][7]
O'Shane suffered from renal disease, and died of cardiac arrest on 29 December 1965 at Base Hospital, Cairns. She was buried in Martyn Street Cemetery.[1][2][3][6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h Best, Ysola. "O'Shane, Gladys Dorothy (1919–1965)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "O'Shane, Gladys Dorothy (1919-1965) - People and organisations". Trove. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Melbourne, The University of. "O'Shane, Gladys Dorothy - Woman - The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ a b "First female Aboriginal Barrister, Pat O'Shane". vrroom.naa.gov.au. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 25 March 2019 – via Vrroom: Virtual Reading Room.
- ^ "Oshane - Ancestry.com". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Record details of Gladys Dorothy O'Shane". www.familyhistory.bdm.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Biography - Gladys Dorothy O'Shane - Indigenous Australia". ia.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ Waterfield, Dorothy (1995). A decade of Mary Owen dinners. Mary Owen Dinner Committee. ISBN 9780646201405.
