Elijah John Carey (20 August 1876 – 14 October 1916) was a New Zealand waiter, trade unionist and soldier.

[1] After originally working as a miner, he became an apprentice printer, picking up press skills he would use later in life, before leaving to travel abroad.

Carey travelled through Europe, the United States and South America where he worked as a steward on steamships and as a waiter in several hotels.

By 1902 Carey was living in Sydney working as a waiter where he was active in Australian Labour politics and he is said to have even been a personal friend of both Andrew Fisher and Billy Hughes.

When both motions were lost heavily, he sided with the ULP rump and left, repudiating the new and more radical Social Democratic Party.

[5] In December 1915, at the age of 39, he volunteered for active service in the army, entering the 2nd Battalion, Wellington Infantry Regiment as a Private.