Mary Farrelly
Mary Martha Farrelly (born Mary Martha Maley) (18 June 1866 – 28 August 1943) was an Australian social worker and diet reformer. She promoted fresh food, wholemeal wheat, and no alcohol. Born in Greenough, Western Australia, she came from a large family; her mother Elizabeth Kniest and her father, John Stephen Maley, ran a flour mill. She was one of fourteen children, and two of her brothers later served in Western Australia’s Parliament.
Farrelly joined the Women's Service Guilds early on. The Guild helped found Western Australia’s Kindergarten system and the local Girl Guides. She was also a member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. In 1921 she became a Justice of the Peace.
An enthusiastic advocate for wholesome food, Farrelly believed wholemeal flour improved health and credited it with helping her recover from illness. She published a cookery book to promote wholemeal flour and was known for demonstrations, sometimes chewing wholemeal puffed wheat while explaining its benefits.
She was a co-founder of the Western Australian Historical Society and, in 1926, was elected senior vice-president. She helped form and lead the Western Australia branch of the Country Women’s Association and ran domestic science courses through Country Circles since 1912. Her talks and demonstrations were well known.
During the Depression she published How to Cook Wheat, with recipes using wholegrain wheat. Mary Farrelly died in Subiaco, Western Australia, in 1943. She had married young, but the marriage ended in separation after her husband, a solicitor, faced mental health issues.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:39 (CET).