John "Jack" Joseph Simons (also widely known and referred to as J. J. Simons and J. J. "Boss" Simons (12 August 1882 – 24 October 1948) was an Australian businessman and politician, best known for establishing the
Young Australia League
The Young Australia League (Inc) (YAL) is an Australian youth organisation which was formed in Perth, Western Australia in 1905 by Jack Simons and Lionel Boas. Developed as a means to encourage Australian nationalism and patriotic values, the o ...
.
Early life
Simons was born at
Clare, South Australia
The town of Clare is located in South Australia in the Mid North region, 136 km north of Adelaide. It gives its name to the Clare Valley wine and tourist region.
At the , Clare itself had a population of 3160 as part of an urban area with ...
to Thomas Simons, a
currier
A currier is a specialist in the leather processing industry. After the tanning process, the currier applies techniques of dressing, finishing and colouring to a tanned hide to make it strong, flexible and waterproof. The leather is stretched an ...
, and Margaret Simons, née Henry, a
schoolteacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. wh ...
. In about 1896 he arrived at
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
where he worked for a
tinsmith
A tinsmith is a person who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. The profession may sometimes also be known as a tinner, tinker, tinman, or tinplate worker; whitesmith may also refer to this profession, though the same wo ...
. He developed an interest in labour issues with a strong belief in nationalist policies as well as becoming a prominent advocate against
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
. At he was confident and charismatic and developed strong debating skills.
Australian rules football Administrator
He was secretary of the
Western Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...
from 1905 to 1914 and in 1905 established the Young Australia Football League. The same year together with
Lionel Boas
Lionel Tobias Boas (1875 – 16 August 1949) was a prominent public official from Western Australia.
Biography
Early life
Lionel Tobias Boas was born in 1875 in South Australia. His father was Rabbi Abraham Boas (1844–1923).
Career
He move ...
, the YAFL was renamed to become the
Young Australia League
The Young Australia League (Inc) (YAL) is an Australian youth organisation which was formed in Perth, Western Australia in 1905 by Jack Simons and Lionel Boas. Developed as a means to encourage Australian nationalism and patriotic values, the o ...
which aimed to promote healthy outdoor activities for Western Australian youth, particularly boys. The organisation flourished for many years and expanded to other states. Simons was referred to by YAL members as "Boss Simons".
Simons acted as tour manager for most representative teams including the
West Australian team.
Simons promotional work led to the establishment of
Australian rules football in the United States
Australian rules football in the United States (most commonly referred to simply as "Footy" but sometimes "Aussie Rules" or AFL) is a team and spectator sport which has grown rapidly since the late 1990s.
It was originally introduced to the Unit ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the first Australian national team to tour overseas and the first two national teams dedicated to the sport to tour Australia.
Education
He was secretary of the Western Australian State School Teachers Union until 1917 and was State president of the
Australian Natives' Association
The Australian Natives' Association (ANA) was a mutual society founded in Melbourne, Australia in April 1871. It was founded by and for the benefit of native-born white Australians and membership was restricted exclusively to that group.
The A ...
in 1910–11. He was secretary of the
Western Australian Trotting Association
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
* Western, New York, a town in the US
* Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
* Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that ...
in 1913–14, later being made a life member.
Politics
In the
1917 federal election he unsuccessfully contested the
Division of Fremantle
The Division of Fremantle is an electoral division of the Australian House of Representatives in Western Australia.
Geography
Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistrib ...
for
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
. Simons campaigned with
John Curtin
John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...
until they disagreed after Simons wrote newspaper articles criticising trade unionists, referring to strikers as "Trade Union Trash". In
1921
Events
January
* January 2
** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil.
** The Spanish lin ...
he won the
Seat of East Perth in the
state parliament. He resigned his seat on 1 November 1922 and subsequently nominated as a candidate for the
resulting by-election on 18 November 1922, but was defeated by the Labor candidate,
Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes (20 October 182222 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. ...
.
He supported
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
James Mitchell's land development and migration programmes and the ill-fated
Kendenup community established by
Jack De Garis
Clement John ("Jack") De Garis (22 November 188417 August 1926) was an Australian entrepreneur and aviator. He worked in the dried fruits industry in the Sunraysia area around Mildura in the early 20th century, and was noted for his vibrant perso ...
in 1920. Simons Road in the town is named in his honour.
Publishing
Simons was active in publishing, producing an annual ''Australian Junior'' from 1906 to 1911 as well as the monthly ''Boomerang'', edited from 1914 by himself as an extension to YAL activities. In 1918 he established the ''
Call
Call or Calls may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* Call, a type of betting in poker
* Call, in the game of contract bridge, a bid, pass, double, or redouble in the bidding stage
Music and dance
* Call (band), from Lahore, Paki ...
'', a sports focussed weekly newspaper with
Victor Courtney, and in 1921 in a partnership with Courtney purchased a struggling Saturday-evening paper, ''
The Mirror'' building its circulation during the 1920s to over 10,000. In 1926 Simons published ''Reflections'', a collection of his own beliefs and experiences.
In 1935, a syndicate led by Simons and including Courtney and mining entrepreneur
Claude de Bernales
Claude Albo de Bernales (31 May 1876 – 9 December 1963) was a Western Australian mining entrepreneur whose business activities and marketing did much to stimulate investment in Western Australia during the early years of the twentieth ce ...
purchased Western Press Limited, the publishers of ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' for £55,000. Simons was managing director until his death in 1948.
Death
Simons died of heart disease in 1948 and was buried in the Roman Catholic section of
Karrakatta Cemetery
Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...
. His epitaph reads "I am the Spirit of the League".
Several years before his death he assigned his interest in Western Press to the Y.A.L. which yielded over £50,000 to the organisation.
When the 3-tier grandstand at
Subiaco Oval
Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood.
Subiaco Oval was the high ...
was opened on 31 August 1969, it was named the "J J Simons-W R Orr-R W Hill Grandstand", partly in his honour. In 2019, Simons was inducted into the
West Australian Football Hall of Fame
The West Australian Football Hall of Fame was created in 2002 to recognise and enshrine those who have made a significant contribution to Australian rules football in Western Australia. People eligible for inclusion are players, coaches, umpires, ...
.
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simons, Jack
1882 births
1948 deaths
Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery
Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Politicians from Perth, Western Australia
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia
20th-century Australian politicians
West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees