John Wren

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John Wren
John Wren (cropped).jpg
Wren c. 1919
Born(1871-04-03)3 April 1871
Collingwood, Victoria, Australia[1]
Died26 October 1953(1953-10-26) (aged 82)
Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia[2]
NationalityAustralian
Known forBusinessman and underworld figure

John Wren (3 April 1871 – 26 October 1953) was an Australian bookmaker, boxing and wrestling promoter, Irish nationalist, land speculator, newspaper owner, racecourse and racehorse owner, soldier, pro-conscriptionist and theatre owner[3] He has become a legendary figure thanks mainly to a fictionalised account of his life in Frank Hardy's novel Power Without Glory, which was also made into a television series. After his death in 1953, Wren was buried at Boroondara Cemetery in Kew.

Early life[]

John Wren was born in Collingwood, Melbourne on 3 April 1871. He was the third son of Irish immigrants John Wren Snr. labourer and Margaret, née Nester. He left school at the age of 12 and worked in a wood-yard and as a boot clicker, while supplementing his wage through various gambling activities. Losing his job in the 1890s depression, he commenced a horse racing gambling venture at his Johnston Street totalizator, which eventually earned him £20,000 per year.[4]

Power Without Glory[]

In 1950, the novelist Frank Hardy portrayed Wren negatively in his self-published 1950 novel Power Without Glory, 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 Thomas Bent and Prime Minister James Scullin, as well as Roman Catholic Archbishop Daniel Mannix. Due to the fact that Hardy was a member of the Communist Party of Australia, the book, and its criticisms of Wren, became politically embroiled in the anti-communist culture of the Cold War.[5] John Wren's wife, , sued Hardy for libel after the book's publication.

Other books about John Wren[]

Frank Brennan's son, the author , gave a favourable portrayal of Wren in his 1971 biography, John Wren: Gambler. Hugh Buggy's The Real John Wren (1977), with a Foreword by Arthur Calwell, Federal Parliamentary Labor Party Deputy Leader, was also very favourable. An alternative account was given by 's article in Labor History, "John Wren: Machine Boss" (1981). John Wren: A Life Reconsidered by James Griffin (2004) presented an essentially positive view of Wren's life and career.

Family[]

Wren's granddaughter, Gabrielle Pizzi, also achieved renown as an art dealer credited with raising the profile of Aboriginal art. 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,[6] 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.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  2. ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  3. ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  4. ^ James Griffin, 'Wren, John (1871–1953)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wren-john-9198/text16247, published first in hardcopy 1990, accessed online 9 February 2017
  5. ^ Hocking, Jenny. "2001 ASSLH conference – Recontesting the cultural cold war: Frank Hardy, Power without glory and criminal libel". Australian Society for the Study of Labour History. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  6. ^ Money, Lawrence; Carbone, Suzanne (20 February 2008). "Shunned Wren in-law has the last laugh". The Age. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  7. ^ Money, Lawrence (17 February 2010). "No glory in the saga of the Wren family feud". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  • Brennan, Niall. Dr Mannix. Rigby Limited Adelaide, 1964.
  • Brennan, Niall. John Wren: Gambler. Melbourne, 1971.
  • Buggy, Hugh, The Real John Wren, Melbourne, 1977.
  • Griffin, James. Wren, John (1871–1953), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 12, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pp 580–83.
  • Griffin, James. John Wren: A Life Reconsidered, Scribe, Melbourne, 2004.
  • Growden, Greg. The Snowy Baker Story. Random House Australia, 2003.
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