Born into a Jewish family on 1 October 1909 in Vienna, eldest child of Heinrich Goldner and Camilla, nee Pollak, Eva excelled at languages, music and art. Unable to afford university she studied dressmaking, eventually setting up her own business designing and making clothes. She and her mother gained permission to travel to Britain in January 1939. Fritz (Freddy), one of her brothers, had already migrated to Australia in 1938 and sponsored their passage to Australia. They arrived in Brisbane, Queensland in February 1939.
Eva continued to work as a dressmaker, became treasurer of a fund-raising organisation for Jewish refugees, joined the Communist Part of Australia (CPA) in 1941 (then an illegal organisation) and on 3 May 1944 married Edwin Alexander Bacon, known as Ted. Ted Bacon was a fellow communist and was serving in the Australian Imperial Force. They had one child, a daughter, Barbara. After the war Eva worked at the community level through the CPA's Enoggera branch.
In 1950, at the suggestion of the CPA, Eva Bacon was also a member of the Union of Australian Women (UWA). She was especially active in women's and peace issues. She was secretary of the Brisbane International Women's Day Committee from 1954 to 1974.
She died on 23 July 1994 and her body was received at the University of Queensland's Department of Anatomical Sciences.
1936 - 1993