Australian Dictionary of Biography

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Life Summary

Name	Edna Minna Ryan
Alternative Names	Edna Minna Nelson Edna Minna Jones
Born	15 December, 1904 Pyrmont, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died	10 February, 1997 (aged 92) Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Cause of Death	unknown
Cultural Heritage	Norwegian Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.
Related Entries	[View as tree] Conlon, Patricia Anne (colleague) Cashman, Ellen Imelda (mentor) Ross, Hedwig (influence)
Education *	Fort Street Girls' High School (Sydney) (student, 1916-1920) Newtown Public School (Sydney) (student, 1917-1918)
Occupation or Descriptor *	anti-conscriptionist (1916-1917) New South Wales, Australia clerk (1920-1932) New South Wales, Australia communist (1927-1932) New South Wales, Australia trade union official (1929-1932) New South Wales, Australia poulterer (1952-1958) New South Wales, Australia local government councillor (1956-1965) New South Wales, Australia clerk (1958-1973) New South Wales, Australia trade union official (1965-1973) New South Wales, Australia feminist (1973-1997) New South Wales, Australia labour historian (1975-1997) New South Wales, Australia
Key Events *	International Women's Year Tribune, Mexico City (1975) (delegate)
Legacies *	Edna Ryan Award (eponym)
Key Organisations *	Federated Clerks Union of Australia (NSW) (member, 1920-1932) Workers' Educational Association (NSW) (organiser, 1935-1945) ALP (NSW) (candidate, 1953) Federated Municipal and Shire Council Employees' Union of Australia (NSW) (organiser, 1965-1972) Women's Trade Union Commission (founder, 1976) Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (NSW) (life member, 1986-1993)
Political Activism *	anti-conscriptionist (activist, 1916-1917) Communist Party (national) (member, 1927-1932) Militant Women's Movement (NSW) (member, 1929) ALP (NSW) (member, 1944-1997) Women's Electoral Lobby (NSW) (member, 1973-1997) ALP (federal) (life member, 1987-1997)
Workplaces *	Fairfield City Council (NSW) (councillor, 1956-1965) Fairfield City Council (NSW) (deputy mayor, 1957-1958) Prospect County Council (NSW) (employee, 1958)

* Dates are approximate