Celebration to honour Harley Daley
Published on 10 June 2025
The Campbelltown community is being called upon to celebrate the life and achievements of one of the city’s most esteemed residents, Harley James Daley, at a special event on Saturday, 28 June.
The community is invited to join the Daley family as they transport his medals, earned during his WWII service, from the current library to its new location on Queen Street at Downtown Plaza during the ‘Honouring Harley Daley’ event.
During the event, participants will be invited to join in passing the medals up Queen Street, before they are handed over to the Mayor of Campbelltown, Darcy Lound at the entrance to the new library location.
Cr Lound said the event would pay tribute to Mr Daley’s extraordinary contribution to the city.
“Harley Daley left a significant mark on Campbelltown during his many years of service as town clerk, overseeing historical change as Campbelltown grew and was first declared a city,” he said.
“He was deeply embedded within the community through his involvement with a number of community organisations and was part of a generation of young men who enlisted to serve during World War II.”
“Mr Daley’s legacy will continue to be honoured in the new library with a special display of memorabilia to be placed in a public space within the library.”
Following the event, participants are invited to Mawson Park to enjoy a barbeque and refreshments.
About Harley Daley
Harley James Daley was appointed Town Clerk (now known as the CEO) in 1931. As Town Clerk for 41 years, Mr Daley watched over Campbelltown as it grew from 8000 people into a city of more than 130,000.
The only break in his term came with World War II when he joined the ill-fated 8th Division, was captured by the Japanese, and spent three and a half years in Changi Prison where he kept a private diary detailing the harrowing experiences of the infamous prison.
The Campbelltown Agricultural Society, Lions Club, Golf Club, RSL, Masonic Lodge, regional hospitals and countless sporting groups can all speak to his involvement, and in 1961 he was awarded the MBE for his services.
Harley admitted to being “the proudest man in Campbelltown” upon his retirement in 1971 when the Council named the new city library in his honour. He died in 1987.