Pat Geraghty

Struggle, Solidarity and Unity: 150 Years of Maritime Unions in Australia

Patrick (Pat) Geraghty was born in Sydney in 1928 and first went to sea as a deck boy at the age of 19.

In 1961, he was appointed federal returning officer for the Seamen's Union of Australia elections and organised the first Committee of Management Representatives Conference. In 1967, he was elected Assistant Federal Secretary and deputy to E.V. Elliott. They worked alongside each other to transform the lives of seafarers, including winning a guaranteed annual wage, severance pay and long service leave (MUA 2016).

In the 1970s, Pat served on the International Labour Organisation's Joint Maritime Commission and led the SUA in joining the International Trade Federation's international campaign against Flags of Convenience shipping (MUA 2016).

Pat was integral to some of the SUA’s most significant campaigns, including the Organisation of Maritime Unions against Apartheid in the 1980s that enforced the oil embargo against the South African Government. He was also instrumental in the introduction of a seafarers’ superannuation scheme, the first time that superannuation was made available to workers and not just management.

Pat led the SUA as Federal Secretary from 1978 and steered it through a period of significant change and restructure, including overseeing the union’s amalgamation with the Waterside Workers' Federation in 1993.     

Pat died from heart complications in Sydney on 23 March 2016. Over 500 mourners attended his funeral. He is remembered as someone who was committed to peace, justice, decency and opportunity.   

 

References

McDonald, D 2016, Pat Geraghty: 1928-2016, SEARCH Foundation, <https://www.search.org.au/pat_geraghty>  

 

 

Pat Geraghty, c. 1980s (Z91-135).

Pat Geraghty, c. 1980s (Z91-135).

Geraghty Family - Tess (Pat's wife), Pat, Margaret (Pat's mother), Matthew, Brian and Chris, undated (N409-119-63).

Geraghty Family - Tess (Pat's wife), Pat, Margaret (Pat's mother), Matthew, Brian and Chris, undated (N409-119-63).

Pat Geraghty speaking at the International Labour Organisation Conference, undated (N409-119-14).

Pat Geraghty speaking at the International Labour Organisation Conference, undated (N409-119-14).

Pat Geraghty addresses a peace rally, undated (N409-90-03).

Pat Geraghty addresses a peace rally, undated (N409-90-03).

Secretary of the Building Workers' Industrial Union Pat Clancy with Pat Geraghty, undated (N409-111-14).

Secretary of the Building Workers' Industrial Union Pat Clancy with Pat Geraghty, undated (N409-111-14).

Pat Geraghty with a Zulu cattleman in the hills outside Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, c. 1980s (N409-57-07).

Pat Geraghty with a Zulu cattleman in the hills outside Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, c. 1980s (N409-57-07).