John Denis Elliott (15 April 1922 – 4 November 2007), known for most of his life as Jack, was an Australian horse racing journalist and commentator.

Early life

Elliott was born in

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

, a suburb of Melbourne, in 1922, during a period in Australia's history represented by particularly hard economic times. His parents, John William Elliott and Mary Ann Elliott were living in a shared house in Essendon in 1919 but with the imminent arrival of a new baby moved to a small cottage of their own. In 1935 he enrolled at St. Joseph's College, North Melbourne and gained his Intermediate Certificate there two years later. During World War Two, Elliott served as a

Warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

in the 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion. He was demobilised in May 1946 after completing his duty with the

2/33rd Battalion (Australia) The 2/33rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army during the Second World War. It was formed as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force in the United Kingdom in June 1940 as the "72nd Battalion" to create the 25th B ...

Career

Elliott began his main working career as a

copy boy A copy boy is a typically young and junior worker on a newspaper. The job involves taking typed stories from one section of a newspaper to another. According to Bruce Guthrie, the former editor-in-chief of the ''Herald Sun'' who began work there ...

with The Truth (Melbourne newspaper). Following his period of war service he became a sports writer with

The Argus (Melbourne) ''The Argus'' was an Australian daily morning newspaper in Melbourne from 2 June 1846 to 19 January 1957, and was considered to be the general Australian newspaper of record for this period. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most ...

in 1946 before moving on to The Sporting Globe in 1954. While at the Globe, Elliott filled the role of Chief Racing Writer and was a well known identity both on and off the track. In 1957 he moved to

The Herald (Melbourne) ''The Herald'' was a morning and, later, evening broadsheet newspaper published in Melbourne, Australia, from 3 January 1840 to 5 October 1990, which is when it merged with its sister morning newspaper ''The Sun News-Pictorial'' to form the ''H ...

as Turf editor, a post he held for 30 years. His other commitments included acting as a Presenter on Channel 7s

World of Sport (Australian TV series) ''World of Sport'' was an Australian sports program that was broadcast live by HSV-7 in Melbourne from 1959 to 1987 on Sundays between 11am and 2pm. By the end of its run, the show was claimed as the world's longest running sports program. His ...

where he became good friends with Ron Casey, Bill Collins and

Lou Richards Lewis Thomas Charles "Lou" Richards, (15 March 1923 – 8 May 2017) was an Australian rules footballer who played 250 games for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1941 and 1955. He captained the team ...

. He also spent some time as a radio Presenter with various radio stations including 3DB in Melbourne. Elliott retired from his career in 1987 after covering numerous Melbourne Cups beginning in the 1940s.Scholtz, Chris (2007) ''Jack Elliott dies after long illness.'' Retrieved on January 11, 2016 from http://www.racingandsports.com.au/en/racing/jack-elliott-dies-after-long-illness-story-115620#kFemAcsXvowhkVkh.97

Later life

Elliott maintained close links with those in the horse racing field including

Tommy J. Smith Thomas John Smith (3 September 1916 – 2 September 1998) was a leading trainer of thoroughbred racehorses based in Sydney, New South Wales. Inducted into the Australian Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in 2001 and elevated to Legend status in ...

. He lived with his wife Joan in the Essendon area until the mid 1970s when he moved to

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popul ...

. Awarded a Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(OAM) for services to the sport of horse racing Elliott died in 2007 after battling ill health for some time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Jack 1922 births 2007 deaths Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian journalists The Herald (Melbourne) people The Argus (Melbourne) people Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian racecallers People from Essendon, Victoria Journalists from Melbourne Military personnel from Melbourne People educated at St Joseph's College, Melbourne