People Australia

Zoe O'Leary, n.d.

Zoe O'Leary, née Midgley (1903-1985) dancer, author, feminist and Communist activist 

Birth: 19 December 1902 at Corinda, Queensland, daughter of English-born parents Alfred Midgley (1849-1930), engineer, clergyman, produce merchant and poet, from Leeds, Yorkshire, and his second wife Sarah Ellen (Nell), née Baron (1864-1954), from St Giles, Middlesex. Marriage: 12 January 1924 at the Registry Office, Adelaide, South Australia, to Eugene William O’Leary (1898-1986), born at Naracoorte, SA. They had one daughter. Death: 31 December 1985 at Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich, New South Wales, usual residence Cliffbrook Parade, Clovelly, Sydney. 

• Youngest of eight children, spent her childhood in Brisbane. Her father was a member of the Legislative Assembly for the seat of Fassifern from 1883 to 1887. Soon after her birth, her father was left paralysed and unable to work, leaving her mother to provide for her family.
• Left home at 17 for a career on stage. Took part in Brisbane opera plays. Danced in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. But her ambitions were thwarted by the recession of 1921.
• Married in 1924, daughter born in 1926. During the 1930s depression her family travelled the countryside in search of a living. In 1931 she returned to Brisbane to give dancing demonstrations and classes for children.
• Her marriage broke up and she and her daughter moved to Sydney. Her daughter was subsequently crippled by arthritis and required close care for the remainder of her life.
• Zoe joined the Communist Party of Australia (CPA) in the 1940s, remaining a member throughout her life and worked for the CPA paper, Tribune, for many years.
• Established a committee to secure release of L. L. Sharkey and was active on a committee to defend author Frank Hardy.
• During the 1960s she was active in the women's movement. With Joan Clarke, she awarded title of Women of the Year by the International Women's Day Committee in 1969.
• Authored and co-authored several works on literary, feminist and autobiographical themes. Her books included Girl Fridays in Revolt, 1969 (with Joan Clarke) and The Desolate Market (biography of Eric Lambert). Also wrote a biography of her father, The Little Byron; the life of Alfred Midgley, Queensland poet, Parliamentarian, and Methodist Pioneer (1982).
• Cause of death: metastatic carcinoma involving liver and lungs (2 months), squamous cell carcinoma anal canal (10 years).

Sources
Tribune (Sydney), 29 January 1986; Zoe O'Leary entry in AustLit database https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A6191