Former Carlton President John Elliott dies - The Age

Former Carlton Football Club President and Liberal Party heavyweight John Elliott has died, aged 79, with his son saying he will be remembered as a strong presence and a loving family man who could connect with all types of people.

Tom Elliott, a 3AW broadcaster, announced his father had died on Thursday afternoon at the Epworth Hospital in Richmond.

John Elliott with his son, Tom, during their regular spot on 3AW Radio in 2015.Credit:Luis Ascui

“Sadly, my father, John Elliot, died just a couple of hours ago,” Tom said on air.

“He had been ill for a few weeks. He had a bad fall a little while back and had been at the Epworth Hospital at Richmond.

“We got the very sad news this afternoon that he had taken his last breath.”

Speaking to The Age, Tom described his father as an “enormous person ... not that he was physically that big, but he cast a big shadow”.

“He was president of Carlton, he ran one of the biggest companies in Australia, there was a while there when they thought he might have a crack at the prime ministership,” Tom said.

“So, yes, he certainly cast a big shadow in a very good way.”

Tom said on 3AW that when his father would come on air with him on Friday evenings he “had a way with people who rang up”, and told The Age callers always felt compelled to confess who they barracked for.

“It was either, ‘go blues’, which meant in Dad’s eye you’re automatically a good person, to, ‘I’m a Collingwood supporter’, and Dad would ask them about their tracksuit pants and their tattoo and their missing teeth, to various things in between,” Tom said.

“People certainly enjoyed speaking with him and I think he really enjoyed those weekly segments on the radio, which actually went ... for almost 10 years.”

Tom said on 3AW that his father would have been 80 in 10 days, and that he would be dearly missed by all his family, including his grandchildren and Tom’s siblings, Caroline, Edward and Alexandra.

“He was a good grandfather, all the grandchildren called him ‘Grandpa Jack’ – they range from 7 through to about 16 now,” Tom told The Age.

“They all loved him even though he could be a bit difficult with children – he was never a child-minding grandfather – but they all loved seeing him at Christmas and so forth, and he loved them.

“One of Dad’s great abilities in life was his ability to connect with all sorts of different people, and he did that extraordinarily well.”

His first wife Lorraine, a former Victorian state parliamentarian for the Liberal Party, predeceased him in 2014. In addition to his four children he is also survived by his second wife Amanda Elliott, brother Ross and former partner Joanne.

Tom said on 3AW he had fielded many calls over the past couple of weeks from people associated with the Carlton Football Club, and, “apart from his family, Carlton was the great love of his life and I’d like to think it was reciprocated.”

In a statement late on Thursday night, the Carlton Football Club said it was deeply saddened by the passing of its longest-serving president.

Carlton captain Stephen Kernahan with John Elliott in 1988. Credit:Andrew De La Rue

Mr Elliott led the Blues through a record 20-year presidency, overseeing a significant period of on-and-off field success.

The team triumphed at the 1987 and 1995 grand finals, and in 1994 was involved in key negotiations for the club’s home ground naming rights at Princes Park.

Carlton President Luke Sayers acknowledged Elliott’s reputation as a powerhouse both on and off the field and said the former president would be remembered as one of the country’s greatest characters.

“John remained a passionate Carlton man, right throughout his life. He never stopped wanting to see the Old Dark Navy Blues succeed.”

Tom told The Age his father was “a strong person in the community and some people saw him as an opponent.

“But he was always a presence.

“[Whether it was] politics, or whatever, Dad always had something to say about it.

“I think his type of person will be missed a great deal in Australia because people like him don’t sort of seem to appear very much anymore.”

Tom said he and his siblings wanted to extend their appreciation to the staff at Epworth Hospital who, within the confines of COVID-19 protocols, allowed family members in to visit his father in groups of one and two over the past week or so.

“We were very grateful for that because I know it’s extraordinarily difficult for people to visit people in hospitals at the moment,” Tom said.

The footy-loving John Elliott was one of the country’s greatest characters, who brought colour and personality to the often grey world of business. He often said it was his ability to “never look back” that kept him going.

He also served as federal president of the Liberal Party.

Elliott pictured in 1986.Credit:Philip Wayne Lock

Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett said Mr Elliott was a “larger than life individual” and “very, very influential Australian” particularly in the 1980s and ’90s.

“He was a doyenne of industry, very much involved in advocating for the private sector, very much involved in political debate and within the Liberal Party,” Mr Kennett told 3AW.

“There was a time there when it was mooted that he would be entering politics and become prime minister.”

Mr Kennett said the Liberal Party was indebted to Mr Elliott’s “endeavours, his enthusiasm and his ability to bring together people in the commercial world to stand up and fight for the values of the private sector”.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he was very sad to learn of Mr Elliott’s death.

“He was a proud Victorian and a larger-than-life figure,” he said on Twitter. “He will be greatly missed and I extend my deepest condolences to his family.”

Liberal heavyweight Brian Loughnane, in a tribute posted on social media, said: “An important figure in the life of the Party nationally and in Victoria during a crucial period. Always a source of sage advice. Will be greatly missed”.

Victorian Liberal Party leader Matthew Guy paid tribute to Mr Elliott on Thursday evening, describing him as a “Liberal legend, devout Carlton FC man, unashamedly proud of Melbourne and Victoria”.

“He made things happen and will be sorely missed,” he said on Twitter.

Liberal MP Louise Staley described him as a giant of business, the Liberal Party and the Carlton Football Club.

Former Victorian premier Denis Napthine said Mr Elliott was a “passionate Victorian and Australian”.

“A larger-than-life character. A great contributor to the Liberal Party. Thoughts are with family and friends,” he said.

Victorian Sports Minister Martin Pakula said he and Mr Elliott were on opposite sides of politics but “I liked him a lot”.

Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said he counted Mr Elliott as a “firm friend”, with whom he conspired to build the Collingwood, Carlton rivalry.

“He was a wonderful, vivacious, giving man who was brilliant on his best days,” he said.

McGuire said Mr Elliott was “the smarts” behind getting things happening at Carlton and establishing the AFL as a national game.

John Elliott with the IXL company jet at Essendon Airport in 1987.Credit:Peter Kevin Solness

“He did an enormous amount of the heavy lifting that turned what was a Melbourne-based competition into the national competition we enjoy today,” he told 3AW.

Mr Elliott was born on October 3, 1941 in Melbourne, the oldest of three sons of Frank Elliott, a deeply religious man who began his career as a bank clerk and rose to become advertising manager of the ANZ banking group, and his wife, Anita (nee Dorman), whose father had run successful bakery and milling businesses throughout Victoria.

He was educated at Carey Grammar, where he earned his first nickname, “Egg”. He was also an emerging leader in the schoolyard.

In 1958 he won both Commonwealth and BHP scholarships to attend Melbourne University to study commerce.

He spent two years at BHP after graduation, invoicing aircraft parts, but when told he would have to wait until he was 30 for a decent executive position, he quit to do an MBA. Then, in 1966 he joined an American management consultancy, McKinsey and Co.

In May 1965, Elliott married Lorraine Golder. They had three children: Tom, Caroline and Edward. Lorraine went on to be Liberal member for Mooroolbark in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1992 to 2002.

He created Elders IXL out of three sensational takeovers, then presided over its growth into Australia’s second-biggest company - a $7 billion, globally based conglomerate with 20,000 employees, with interests in pastoralism, brewing, food processing, commodities trading, resources and finance.

He served as managing director and then chairman of Elders IXL, and he sat on the board of BHP, then the biggest company in Australia. To those, he could add the prestigious positions of chairman of the Committee for Melbourne, federal president of the Liberal Party and president of Carlton Football Club.

John Elliott listens as a shareholder questions the board at the Fosters annual general meeting in 1991. Credit:William West

In an interview with The Age in 2015, Tom said his Dad “calls a spade a spade”.

“His attitudes on life are that you have to be responsible for yourself - that you should never blame other people for your misfortunes. By and large, he has lived that way himself.“

Mr Elliott said he had four rules for his five children (two from a second marriage).

“You always vote Liberal. You barrack for Carlton. You always do your best. And when you get to a marriageable age, you have to make sure your partner barracks for Carlton.”

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2021-09-23 10:46:07Z
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