People Australia

Gladys O'Shane, n.d.

Gladys Dorothy O'Shane, née Davis (1919-1965) Aboriginal activist, feminist and Communist.

Birth: 22 September 1919 at Mossman, Queensland, daughter of George Edgar Davis (1883-1977), labourer, and Caroline Rose, née Molloy (1887-1976). Marriage: 26 October 1940 at the Assembly of God Tabernacle, Cairns, Queensland to Patrick James (Pat) O'Shane (1913-1999), a militant itinerant worker born in Ireland. They had two daughters and three sons. Death: 29 December 1965 in the base hospital at Cairns. 

• Gladys was compelled to leave school at age of 14 for domestic service, though she retained her commitment to education throughout her life.
• With her husband's support, she developed an interest in Marxism during World War II. An active member of Waterside Workers Federation's Women's Committee in Cairns during waterfront disputes of the 1950s, addressing many public meetings, in the late 1950s she attended a conference of WWF women's committees in Sydney, and became active in the broader women's movement and peace movement.
• She was a member of the Australian Union of Women.
• Gladys O’Shane was prominent in the work of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands Advancement League in Cairns during the1950s, holding executive positions throughout life.
• She joined the Communist Party of Australia 1960 and was a delegate to North Queensland, Queensland and National Conferences of the party.
• Cause of death: cardiac arrest.
• She was the mother of Dr Pat O'Shane, Stipendiary Magistrate, NSW. 

Sources
Tribune (Sydney), 19 January1966.