Doris Irene Taylor
Doris Irene Taylor MBE was an Australian social services activist.
Early life and education
Doris Irene Taylor was born in Norwood, South Australia in 1901, the daughter of Thomas Simpkin Taylor and Angelina Williams Taylor. Her father was a bricklayer. Twice in childhood, she survived falls that caused her a limp and paralysis. In 1925 she was injured in a collision with a car, while her sister Ivy was pushing her wheelchair.Career
During the 1930s Taylor worked as a secretary and a fundraiser for a mothers' club, and for a soup kitchen. She moved into political work with the Australian Labor Party by the mid-1940s, and directed a survey of housing conditions. Taylor is credited with persuading Don Dunstan to run for the South Australian lower house seat of Norwood in 1952.Taylor founded Australian Meals on Wheels in South Australia in 1953, and in 1954 the first meal was served from the Port Adelaide kitchen. She worked to include other home-based services for seniors in the organization's offerings, including personal care and library access. Her work for healthier aging was praised by the World Health Organization. She also campaigned for accessible recreation and "a wheelchair for every invalid".
Taylor was appointed M.B.E. in 1959.