Remembering Una Farley, Maitland's first female taxi driver

Mrs Farley passed away on Monday, July 4 at 103-years-old.

She had been a resident of Stroud Community Lodge for the past seven years, and prior to that lived in East Maitland for 96 years.

Born Una Treasure in her grandmother's house on Morpeth Road, East Maitland on May 9, 1919, she had four siblings; William, Douglas, Betty and Joan.

In the community Mrs Farley was well known for her horse riding pursuits; she loved barrel racing, flag racing, camp drafting and showjumping.

Throughout the 1930s and 40s she was sought after to ride horses for some of the big teams that would travel around the show circuit.

It was through the equestrian community that she met Lance Farley.

The pair married in 1942 and shared a love of horses. Sadly, Lance passed away in 1957.

Mrs Farley studied domestic science before working as a cashier at Nichols' butcher shop and then going to the munitions factory in Rutherford.

She told the Dungog Chronicle in 2019 that she had a drivers licence after working as a driver in the munitions factory during the war years, and one day was asked to pick someone up.

This is how her love affair with taxi driving started, and before long she was Maitland's first female taxi driver.

The then minister for roads, the late Milton Morris instigated Mrs Farley's licence in 1954, but she had restrictions; she had to be off the road between dusk and dawn.

She didn't retire until she was 82.

Over time, and as more women joined the workforce, the rule on night driving must have been lifted because Mrs Farley's niece, Nicole McGregor, recalls tales of some of her aunt's late night trips.

There was the time she drove someone to Singleton at 1am, at a time when the roads weren't quite what they are now, and another instance when she drove someone all the way to Sydney and didn't return until past 2am.

"Stoic is what aunty Una was, nothing phased her. If that's what had to be done, that's what she did," Ms McGregor said.

Ms McGregor said her aunt was extremely generous, and was never phased by a challenge.

She never made a big deal about being Maitland's first female taxi driver, so much so that the family didn't even realise until she retired.

"She never made a big deal about anything," Ms McGregor said.

"It wasn't about going out and being a feminist or anything, but it obviously helped those who needed to work, females who needed to get a job and support themselves, and improve their lives for themselves as well."

Looking back, Mrs Farley's drive to join a male-only profession as a married woman would have helped open that door to many other women.

Ms McGregor recalls how her aunt would drive all the way down to Picton to visit her and her family, where she would ride with her nieces and nephews, sharing her equine expertise.

"She played a big part with the influence of riding and she'd help dad move cattle on the property we were living on," she said.

"She was always encouraging for us to ride, not everybody rode but the ones that did, she encouraged them to get on and go but there was never any pressure that you had to be at her standard, because I think it was a fairly high one to meet."

Mrs Farley's funeral service was held on Thursday, July 14 at St Peter's, East Maitland, by parish priest the reverend Scott Dulley.

Ms McGregor said she would like to thank all those who attended, "especially coming out in such difficult times with the roads and access".

"And to all her life long friends and extended family," she said.

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