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Connor, John (1898–1978)

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John Connor (1898-1978) seaman and trade union leader 

Birth: 1898 at Liverpool, Lancashire, England, in 1899 son of John Dunphy, sugar-house labourer, and Mary Jane, née Greaves. Marriage: details unknown, to Rita, They had one son and one daughter. Death: 27 May 1978 in hospital at Chermside, Queensland. 

  • To Australia, early 1930s, work as ‘Liverpool Fireman’ providing experience of harsh living conditions.
  • To North Queensland where active in unemployed struggles. Later prominent in labour agitation at Mt Isa. Forced from Mt Isa by victimisation to Brisbane where secured work as coal-burning fireman.
  • From 1949 to 1961 secretary of Brisbane Branch of Seamen’s Union of Australia.
  • Prominent in peace and internationalist campaigns, assisting Chinese seamen on Gallic, British seamen on Afric, and visiting USSR.
  • Cause of death: chest infection, bronchitis and emphysema and carcinoma of the oesophagus.

Sources
Seamen’s Journal
, January 1961, June 1978.

Citation details

'Connor, John (1898–1978)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/connor-john-33280/text41528, accessed 24 March 2023.

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