Jane Daley

(1881 – 1948)

Jan Daley was born in Mount Gambier, South Australia and moved to Melbourne in 1909. She came from a strong union background and it was no surprise when she took an active interest in the union movement and politics. Among her many roles was delegate to the Trade Hall Council for the Hotel and Caterer’s Union, executive member of the Victorian Socialist Society and the Women’s Socialist League. In 1918 she became the first President of the Women’s Central Organising Committee  and continued to hold down a succession of union positions until just prior to her death in 1948. In addition to her union activities she lived in Northcote with her family, running a confectionary shop there from 1924 until the late 1930s.

Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1851 – 1890. pub. 1969