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Helen Veronica McEntyre (c. 1899–1970)

This article was published:

Helen Veronica McEntyre (c.1899-1970) clerk and trade union official

Birth: about 1899 at Coolgardie, Western Australia, daughter of John McIntyre, diamond driller and miner, and Margaret, née Kelleher (-1920). Unmarried. Death: 3 February 1970 in hospital at Perth; usual residence Mount Street, Perth. Religion: Catholic. 

  • Co-founder and secretary of Caretakers and Cleaners Union, WA goldfields. Also co-founder and first secretary of Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union in Eastern Goldfields District, retaining latter post until her resignation in 1924.
  • Represented both unions for many years on the Eastern Goldfields district council of the Australian Labor Party. Active in Goldfields Women's Labor League.
  • Moved to Perth about 1924 to become an assistant-secretary of Printing Industry Employees Union, remaining with the union for many years.
  • Member of ALP Women's Central Executive from its inception in 1927, secretary in 1930s.
  • President of the Modern Women’s Club in 1947.
  • Cause of death: bronchopneumonia (2 days), dehydration and heart failure.

Sources
Westralian Worker, 4 April 1924; WA ALP Labor Womens’ Central Executive, Souvenir, 1933; information from Anne Morrison, 1994.

Additional Resources and Scholarship

  • profile, Westralian Worker (Perth), 4 April 1924, p 14
  • photo, Daily News (Perth), 3 May 1947, p 5

Citation details

'McEntyre, Helen Veronica (c. 1899–1970)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/mcentyre-helen-veronica-34381/text43149, accessed 21 January 2026.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Birth

c. 1899
Coolgardie, Western Australia, Australia

Death

3 February, 1970 (aged ~ 71)
Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Cause of Death

pneumonia

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
Clubs
Key Organisations
Political Activism