Doris Irene Taylor

Doris Irene Taylor MBE (25 July 1901 — 23 May 1968) 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. Taylor is credited with persuading Don Dunstan to run for the South Australian lower house seat of Norwood in 1952. 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.

Taylor was appointed M.B.E. in 1959. Taylor died in 1968, in Adelaide, aged 66 years. The South Australian Electoral district of Taylor is named after her.