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John (Jock) Reedie (1884–1964)

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John (Jock) Reedie (1884-1964) iron moulder and trade union official 

Birth: 1884 at Dunfirmline, Fifeshire, Scotland, son of James Reedie (1849-1902), labourer and farm servant, and Isabella, née Addison (1848-1918). Marriage: 21 August 1915 at the manse, Newcastle, New South Wales, to native-born Kathleen Burke (1890-1948). They had two daughters and one son. Death: 8 August 1964 at Sacred Heart Hospice, Darlinghurst; usual residence McEvoy Street, Waterloo, Sydney, NSW. Religion: Presbyterian. 

  • Arrived in NSW by 1907.
  • Joined Australian union, Moulders’ Union, in 1907. Was president and Secretary of the Iron and Brass Moulders’ Society at Broken Hill in 1913.
  • Secretary of the union’s Newcastle branch in 1918 and president in 1923.
  • Secretary of the NSW branch of the Federated Moulders’ Union of Australia, based in Sydney, from 1923 to 1955 (retired).
  • Federal president from 1923 to 1955 (retired).
  • Believed that “trade unions only get from Arbitration Court what they are strong enough to demand”.

Sources
Labor Daily, 13 January 1927; William J. Hargreaves, History of Federated Moulders (Metal) Union of Australia, 1858-1958 (Melbourne, 1958), p 96; Moulders’ Journal, 1 March 1918 p 3; Australian Foundry Worker, April 1956, p 12.

Additional Resources and Scholarship

Citation details

'Reedie, John (Jock) (1884–1964)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/reedie-john-jock-34718/text43687, accessed 27 April 2025.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Birth

1884
Dunfirmline, Fife, Scotland

Death

8 August, 1964 (aged ~ 80)
Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

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
Key Organisations