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John Durack (1870–1941)

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John Durack (1870-1941) tailor, trade union official and industrial inspector 

Birth: 1870 in County Clare, Ireland, son of Patrick Durack, farmer, and Katherine, née Toohey. Marriage: 17 February 1903 at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, New South Wales, to Bridget Noonan (1871-1939), born in Galway, Ireland. They had a daughter and two sons. Death: 15 August 1941 at Dulwich Hill, Sydney. Religion: Catholic. 

  • Arrived in colony about 1903.
  • Worked as a tailor, in Sydney.
  • Secretary of Amalgamated Journeyman Tailors' Association, NSW, (AJTA) c.1901-1911. Supported organisation of 'order' tailoresses by AJTA following 1901 tailoresses' strike.
  • Sympathetic to Australian Socialist League but did not encourage 'political' activity.
  • Elected first Federal secretary of the Federated Clothing Trades Union in 1907, but federation did not flourish under his secretaryship and in 1909 the S.A. Branch protested his 'laxness...in the administration of that office'. In 1911 he was replaced as NSW branch secretary and Federal secretary by Jack Crombie.
  • Joined the Department of Labour and Industry as an industrial inspector. Worked all over the State enforcing industrial awards. Retired in January 1935.
  • Cause of death: carcinoma of stomach.

Sources
Bradon Ellem, In women’s hands? A history of clothing trades unionism in Australia (Sydney, 1989).

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Citation details

'Durack, John (1870–1941)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/durack-john-33565/text41956, accessed 16 September 2024.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Birth

1870
Clare, Ireland

Death

15 August, 1941 (aged ~ 71)
Dulwich Hill, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Cause of Death

cancer (stomach)

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

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
Key Organisations
Political Activism
Workplaces