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https://theconversation.com/an-extraordinary-dynamo-doris-taylor-founded-meals-on-wheels-and-helped-elect-don-dunstan-199209>
"When Doris Taylor took possession of a new motorised wheelchair in 1951, she
quipped: “Heaven help any bureaucrat who gets in my way now.”
Few would have dared. For while she may not have been able to walk, Taylor was
no walkover. A fearless and passionate advocate for the socially disadvantaged,
she refused to sit on the sidelines of society, and had a well-earned
reputation for getting things done.
After witnessing poor children forced to scrounge for scraps during the Great
Depression, for example, she set up a soup kitchen in the local school.
When she realised elderly people were being institutionalised in psychiatric
homes simply because they were undernourished, she founded Meals on Wheels.
And when she wanted a more radical voice in politics, she convinced a young
solicitor, Don Dunstan, to join the Australian Labor Party and stand for
election in the House of Assembly seat of Norwood. She even managed his
election campaign, guiding him to victory.
Dunstan, who would go on to become premier of South Australia, later described
Taylor as “an extraordinary dynamo” and “the woman who influenced my career
more profoundly than any other, except my first wife Gretel”.
“Doris Taylor is one of the great unsung heroines of Australia,” he wrote in
his memoir, Felicia. “I can never record sufficiently the gratitude I owe her,
as do thousands of others.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
