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Francis George (Frank) Nolan (1894–1977)

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Francis George (Frank) Nolan (1894-1977) clerk, railway employee and trade union official

Birth: 7 August 1894 at Isisford, Queensland, son of Henry George Nolan (1853-1920), a carrier, later engineer, born at Gravelly Beach, Tasmania, and Delia (Adele), née Connell (1863-1923), born at Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland. Never married. Death: 8 October 1977 in Princess Alexandra Hospital, South Brisbane. Religion: Anglican. 

  • Frank’s grandfather, Cornelius Nolan, born in Cork, Ireland, is said to have arrived in Tasmania as a convict in 1843.
  • Frank became apprenticed as a clerk in the Queensland railways in 1913. He Joined the Australian Railways Union (ARU) in 1914.
  • Vice-chairman of Rockhampton sub-branch; branch correspondent to the ARU journal, The Militant, in 1917.
  • Transferred to Mt Morgan and returned to Rockhampton in 1925. Played a prominent part in railway strikes of 1925, 1927 and 1931. District chairman and district treasurer 1925-1927; councillor, Qld State branch of ARU, 1927-1969; ARU delegate to Qld Trades and Labor Council conferences from 1926 and delegate to ACTU conferences.
  • Moved to Brisbane in 1935. Chairman of North Brisbane sub-branch in 1936. Employees’ representative on Clerical Classification Board from 1940 to 1944.
  • Became State secretary Qld ARU in 1945 upon the death of Tim Moroney. Held office until he retired in 1969. Senior vice-president of the Australian council of ARU; chairman, Combined Railway Unions in Qld; Industrial advocate for Combined Railway Unions in Qld and ARU; vice-president Qld TLC 1957-1969.
  • Editor, Railway Advocate which was the union's journal. Delegate to Qld central executive of the Australian Labor Party. Twice elected delegate to Federal Conference of Labor in Politics.
  • Delegate to Red International of Labour Unions, Moscow, 1930; Workers representative to ILO Geneva, 1958; Delegate to World Federation of Unions, Budapest, 1961; guest of Railway Workers Union in Soviet Union, 1958? Guest of Labor US 1958? Delegate to tri-annual conference of Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, 1961.
  • Wrote autobiography, You Pass this Way Only Once (Brisbane, 1974), edited by Denis Murphy.
  • Cause of death: cardiac arrest (minutes) and myocardial infarction (days).

Sources
ARU 34th Meeting of Australian Council April 1970; Advocate, 15 January 1945 p 1.

This person appears as a part of the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 15. [View Article]

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Citation details

'Nolan, Francis George (Frank) (1894–1977)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/nolan-francis-george-frank-11250/text43461, accessed 9 November 2024.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Birth

7 August, 1894
Longreach, Queensland, Australia

Death

8 October, 1977 (aged 83)
South Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Cause of Death

heart disease

Cultural Heritage

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