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Mary Anne (Molly) Dunn (1873–1944)

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Mary Anne Dunn, 1930s

Mary Anne Dunn, 1930s

Mary Anne (Molly) Dunn, née Smith (1873-1944) Labor party activist 

Birth: 11 September 1873 at Hay, New South Wales, daughter of native-born parents Michael Smith (1847-1925), a drover and farmer, and Mary Anne, née Reese (1852-1932). Marriage: 1896 at Nyngan, NSW, to native-born William Henry Dunn, a butcher (1871-1950). They had two daughters and four sons.  Death: 17 August 1944 at Sacred Heart Hospice, Darlinghurst, Sydney; usual residence Wigram Road, Glebe Point. Religion: Catholic. 

  • Grand-daughter of convict William Rees (1913-1910), alias James Lewis, and his wife Mary, née Fitzpatrick (1818-18650, who came free.
  • Active anti-conscriptionist during World War 1.
  • Represented Glebe branch of the Australian Labor Party on West Sydney Electoral Council.
  • Campaign director for H.V. Evatt in Balmain 1925. Member NSW State ALP Executive 1927-29. Sometime vice president of the Labor Women’s Central Organising Committee
  • Attended first Labor Women’s Conference in Melbourne in 1929 with Lena Lynch and Nurse Sarah Francis.
  • Candidate for Glebe Local Government Election 1931. Addressed women’s rally Glebe 1931.
  • First women elected to Glebe Council. ALP alderman for Glebe from 1932 to 1937.
  • Cause of death: cerebral haemorrhage and arteriosclerosis.

Sources
Labor Daily, 2 November 1931; 11 December 1931; Max Solling and Peter Reynolds, Leichhardt: on the margins of the city (St Leonards, 1997), p 198; information from Sue Tracey 1997.

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Citation details

'Dunn, Mary Anne (Molly) (1873–1944)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/dunn-mary-anne-molly-33875/text42436, accessed 26 April 2025.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Mary Anne Dunn, 1930s

Mary Anne Dunn, 1930s

Life Summary [details]

Alternative Names
  • Smith, Mary Anne
Birth

11 September, 1873
Hay, New South Wales, Australia

Death

17 August, 1944 (aged 70)
Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Cause of Death

brain hemorrhage

Religious Influence

Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.

Occupation or Descriptor
Political Activism
Workplaces