285:. Others of his children had troubled lives. His son Anthony committed suicide after being disinherited following an argument with Wren, while his daughter-in-law Nora and grandchildren only received a meagre allowance. When another of Wren's grandchildren, Susan Wardlaw, died, her two brothers had her buried without notifying her husband Greg, who was then given 24 hours to leave the family home, while another of Wren's daughters, Angela, purportedly died of malnutrition when she was 39, leaving an estate worth £97,000.
40:
301:'s pre-professionalised era. While players were paid a per-game salary, the amount was meagre until the late 20th century when the sport became professionalised. To compensate for this, Wren was known to send monetary gifts to players who
341:
a time when Wren asked
Richards how much he was paid the week prior. When Richards replied "a pound note, sir", Wren gifted Richards A£20 (potentially up to A$ 910 in 2022 terms, as the year this happened was not clarified).
196:, in which Wren appears thinly disguised as a character called John West. The book also included characters based on other important Victorian and Australian political figures, including Victorian Premier Sir
153:, on 3 April 1871. He was the third son of Irish immigrants John Wren Snr., a labourer, and Margaret, née Nester. He left school at the age of 12 and worked in a woodyard and as a
406:
610:
635:
620:
600:
305:, often paying ten to twenty times the normal game salary to certain Collingwood players. Among the beneficiaries included Collingwood legend
432:
120:
615:
365:
James
Griffin, 'Wren, John (1871–1953)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University,
605:
459:
625:
158:
209:
630:
337:
298:
232:
407:"2001 ASSLH conference – Recontesting the cultural cold war: Frank Hardy, Power without glory and criminal libel"
294:
282:
255:, Federal Parliamentary Labor Party Deputy Leader, was also very favourable. An alternative account was given by
302:
261:
212:, the book, and its criticisms of Wren, became politically embroiled in the anti-communist culture of the
150:
20:
313:; however, in his case, League Laws prevented him from doing this, so he exploited a loophole by gifting
154:
123:
and theatre owner. He became a legendary figure thanks mainly to a fictionalised account of his life in
63:
256:
595:
590:
236:
221:
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129:
169:
162:
217:
82:
325:
314:
133:, which was also made into a television series. After his death in 1953, Wren was buried at
366:
321:
310:
306:
278:
269:
by James
Griffin (2004) presented an essentially positive view of Wren's life and career.
157:, while supplementing his wage through various gambling activities. Losing his job in the
252:
557:
328:
500 (A$ 10,392 in 2022 terms), which was to be distributed among
Collingwood players.
584:
205:
201:
138:
332:
39:
161:, he commenced a successful horse-racing gambling venture at his Johnston Street
197:
187:
173:
124:
116:
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was general manager, and parlayed it into a major business – Stadiums Pty Ltd.
510:
484:
244:
379:
165:, which eventually earned him £20,000 per year (A$ 2,646,000 in 2021 terms).
317:
50 to
Coventry's wife (A$ 2,224 in 2022 terms) to buy a suite of furniture.
112:
281:
also achieved renown as an art dealer credited with raising the profile of
213:
369:, published first in hardcopy 1990, accessed online 9 February 2017
134:
239:, gave a favourable portrayal of Wren in his 1971 biography,
119:, newspaper owner, racecourse and racehorse owner, soldier,
512:
Tony Jones' tribute to Lou
Richards (Nine News, 8 May 2017)
190:
portrayed Wren negatively in his self-published 1950 novel
562:, Volume 12, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pp 580–83.
367:
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wren-john-9198/text16247
380:"Till 15,000-seat Stadium Is Built, Fights to Go North"
431:
Money, Lawrence; Carbone, Suzanne (20 February 2008).
309:
after he scored a then-record 16 goals in a game in
115:, boxing and wrestling promoter, Irish nationalist,
111:(3 April 1871 – 26 October 1953) was an Australian
98:
90:
71:
49:
30:
411:Australian Society for the Study of Labour History
386:. Victoria, Australia. 25 January 1955. p. 7
208:. Due to the fact that Hardy was a member of the
460:"No glory in the saga of the Wren family feud"
293:Wren was well known for supporting exemplary
8:
394:– via National Library of Australia.
38:
27:
433:"Shunned Wren in-law has the last laugh"
351:
204:, as well as Roman Catholic Archbishop
361:
359:
357:
355:
7:
458:Money, Lawrence (17 February 2010).
265:, "John Wren: Machine Boss" (1981).
611:Australian people of Irish descent
559:Australian Dictionary of Biography
331:In another example of generosity,
14:
636:People from Collingwood, Victoria
102:Businessman and underworld figure
621:Professional wrestling promoters
19:For the English footballer, see
576:. Random House Australia, 2003.
535:. Rigby Limited Adelaide, 1964.
567:John Wren: A Life Reconsidered
267:John Wren: A Life Reconsidered
224:after the book's publication.
1:
601:Businesspeople from Melbourne
210:Communist Party of Australia
616:Australian boxing promoters
251:(1977), with a foreword by
228:Other books about John Wren
652:
606:Australian Roman Catholics
569:, Scribe, Melbourne, 2004.
491:. Melbourne. 19 April 1952
18:
464:The Sydney Morning Herald
37:
172:'s Stadia Ltd, of which
554:Wren, John (1871–1953)
289:Collingwood benefactor
186:In 1950, the novelist
168:In 1916, he took over
151:Collingwood, Melbourne
149:John Wren was born in
21:John Wren (footballer)
16:Australian businessman
626:Australian bookmakers
574:The Snowy Baker Story
338:The Sunday Footy Show
277:Wren's granddaughter
64:Collingwood, Victoria
222:sued Hardy for libel
216:. John Wren's wife,
235:'s son, the author
200:and Prime Minister
193:Power Without Glory
181:Power Without Glory
135:Boroondara Cemetery
130:Power Without Glory
121:pro-conscriptionist
631:Irish nationalists
549:, Melbourne, 1977.
547:The Real John Wren
542:. Melbourne, 1971.
540:John Wren: Gambler
485:"£500 for Magpies"
249:The Real John Wren
241:John Wren: Gambler
106:
105:
83:Fitzroy, Victoria
643:
565:Griffin, James.
552:Griffin, James.
538:Brennan, Niall.
531:Brennan, Niall.
523:
522:
521:
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405:Hocking, Jenny.
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363:
257:Chris McConville
159:1890s depression
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59:
57:
42:
28:
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572:Growden, Greg.
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389:
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364:
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324:, Wren donated
307:Gordon Coventry
297:players in the
291:
279:Gabrielle Pizzi
275:
230:
184:
147:
117:land speculator
86:
80:
76:
75:26 October 1953
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53:
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33:
24:
17:
12:
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303:performed well
290:
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283:Aboriginal art
274:
271:
259:'s article in
253:Arthur Calwell
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183:
178:
146:
143:
104:
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100:
99:Known for
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81:
79:(aged 82)
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10:
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6:
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545:Buggy, Hugh,
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264:
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262:Labor History
258:
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246:
242:
238:
237:Niall Brennan
234:
233:Frank Brennan
227:
225:
223:
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211:
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206:Daniel Mannix
203:
202:James Scullin
199:
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139:Kew, Victoria
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532:
516:, retrieved
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505:
493:. Retrieved
488:
479:
469:10 September
467:. Retrieved
463:
453:
443:10 September
441:. Retrieved
436:
426:
416:10 September
414:. Retrieved
410:
400:
388:. Retrieved
383:
374:
336:
335:recalled on
333:Lou Richards
330:
319:
292:
276:
266:
260:
248:
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231:
191:
185:
180:
170:J. L. Garvan
167:
155:boot clicker
148:
128:
108:
107:
77:(1953-10-26)
60:3 April 1871
44:Wren c. 1919
25:
596:1953 deaths
591:1871 births
439:. Melbourne
390:17 November
295:Collingwood
198:Thomas Bent
188:Frank Hardy
174:Snowy Baker
163:totalizator
125:Frank Hardy
91:Nationality
85:, Australia
66:, Australia
585:Categories
346:References
245:Hugh Buggy
218:Ellen Wren
145:Early life
94:Australian
56:1871-04-03
533:Dr Mannix
384:The Argus
127:'s novel
113:bookmaker
109:John Wren
32:John Wren
518:27 March
495:27 March
214:Cold War
489:The Age
437:The Age
273:Family
520:2023
497:2023
471:2021
445:2021
418:2021
392:2021
322:1952
311:1929
72:Died
50:Born
320:In
299:VFL
247:'s
137:in
587::
556:,
487:.
462:.
435:.
409:.
382:.
354:^
326:A£
315:A£
243:.
220:,
141:.
499:.
473:.
447:.
420:.
58:)
54:(
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
