People Australia

Daisy Marchisotti, n.d.

Daisy Elizabeth Marchisotti, née Irving (1904-1987) stenographer, social activist and Communist 

Birth: 28 September 1904 at Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, daughter of Richard Irving (1856-1919), orchardist and farmer, and Jane Payne, née Gordon (1873-1936). Marriage: 1949 at Brisbane, Queensland, to Luigi (Louis) Marchisotti (-1960). Death: 10 February 1987 at Eventide, Sandgate North, Brisbane. 

• Her great grandmother was a negro slave in the West Indies. Her parents were English immigrants. At the age three, they moved to Macedon, Victoria, where her family ran a small orchard.
• Returned to Melbourne on her father's death in 1919. Attended business college at Essendon and became an office worker. She was the sole supporter of her family during the Depression.
• Interested in socialist politics from the age of 18. She joined the Communist Party of Australia in 1941, continuing her involvement in the party throughout life.
• In late 1940s she worked in motor industry, became an active unionist, and a member of the State Executive of the Clerk's Union. In 1951 she prepared and presented a court case for equal pay on the union's behalf.
• On her husband's death in 1960 she became the sole breadwinner for her family, working as an office-worker in Brisbane.
• Prominent campaigner for Aboriginal rights for many years. Active in Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders between 1966 and 1976, writing, printing and distributing its monthly newsletter.
• Arrested when aged 78 at the Commonwealth Games, Brisbane, 1982, whilst demonstrating against racism in Australia.
• Cause of death: dementia and subarachnoid haemorrhage; duration: 3 years six months.

Sources
Tribune (Sydney), 11 March 1987.