Jack Brake

The son of James Hugh Brake (1853-1915),[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1542866 Deaths: Brake, The Argus, (Friday, 30 July 1915), p.1.][http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article73163311 Mr. James H. Brake: Notable Career Ended, The Horsham Times, (Tuesday, 3 August 1915), p.6.] and Barbara Stevenson Brake (1856-1930), née McDougall,[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201991789 Marriages: Brake—McDougall, The Age, (Saturday, August 1881), p.1.][http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4079738 Deaths: Brake, The Argus, (Saturday, 5 April 1930), p.13.] John Brake was born at Horsham, Victoria on 11 November 1890.Serle, Australian Dictionary of Biography.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72867326 Birth: Brake, The Horsham Times, (Friday, 14 November 1890), p.2.]

He married Grace Glendinning Taylor (1890-1976) on 19 July 1921.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4650060 Marriages: Brake—Taylor, The Argus, (Saturday, 24 September 1921), p.1.]

Brake was educated at the Princes Hill High School, the Hawthorn College,[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article202191073 Hawthorn College, The Age, (Tuesday, 22 December 1908), p.10.]The operation of the Hawthorn College, a private institution founded by George Swinburne, MLA in 1908 – also known as the Eastern Suburbs Technical College, Glenferrie – was taken over by the State government in 1913, and the institution was renamed the Swinburne Technical College: [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article241800267 Technical Education: The Hawthorn College: State Control, The Herald, (Tuesday, 29 October 1912), p.1.] and the University of Melbourne.

Enrolled at the University of Melbourne in 1910, he graduated B.Agr.Sc. (Bachelor of Agricultural Science) in April 1916, attending the conferral ceremony in his AIF uniform.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2108692 Commencement Day, The Argus, (Monday, 10 April 1916), p.4.]

He was a champion schoolboy track and field athlete.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197069316 'Cross Country', "Athletics", The Leader, (Saturday, 14 November 1908), p.20.]

At the 1914 Australasian Athletics Championships, with a height of 11 ft (3.35m) – Brake set a new record for a Victorian Amateur, breaking the record he had set (10 ft 6in) at the Victorian Championships in February 1912[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article227952710 Amateur Athletics, The Bendigo Independent, (Monday, 26 February 1912), p.6.]) – he tied for first place in the pole vault with the visiting Stanford University athlete Dink Templeton.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129943943 Athletics: Amateur: Australasian Championships, The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 31 January 1914), p.24.]

While at the University of Melbourne he was awarded a triple blue: for athletics, football, and rifle shooting.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article199434441 University Sports Union, The Age, (Friday, 4 April 1913), p.11.][https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/imgsrv/download/pdf?id=uc1.%24b744566;orient=0;size=100;seq=156;num=78;attachment=0 Roll of Service Overseas 1914–1918: Roll of the Returned: Brake, John 1910, The University of Melbourne Record of Active Service of Teachers, Graduates, Undergraduates, Officers and Servants in the European War, 1914–1918, University of Melbourne, (Melbourne), 1926, p.78.]

File:1914 Victorian Football Team (Letter to the Editor, by 'Enthusiast').tif

Generally regarded as one of University's few great players, Brake usually played in the ruck.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article198130787 The University Team, The Leader, (Saturday, 4 May 1912), p.29.]

He tried out with Melbourne in the 1909 pre-season.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242058288 Football: The League: Melbourne, The Herald, (Friday, 16 April 1909), p.2.] He was vice captain of the University side in 1913.

::It is good news to footballers to hear that Jack Brake, the champion follower, has arranged to come to town two out of every three Saturdays, during the season. He is at [the University's] Dookie College, and is keenly anxious to play for the old team. In order to catch the morning train, it is necessary for him to motor-cycle 26 miles over rough country. He has to cover the same distance on returning on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242146097 University, The Herald, (Friday, 17 April 1914), p.4.]

He represented Victoria in 1912.

The University team withdrew from the VFL competition prior to the 1915 season; and, along with his team-mates Claude Bryan, Jack Doubleday, Dick Gibbs, Roy Park, and Percy Rodriguez, Brake was given a clearance to transfer from University to Melbourne.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242362999 Melbourne: University Stars Join, The Herald, (Friday, 16 April 1915), p.3.]

Image:Detail of Third Australian Division Football Team (28 October 1916).tif

Brake was stationed with the 3rd Division in London when an Australian rules match was organised for 28 October 1916 between two teams of Australian servicemen in aid of the British and French Red Cross.Anon, "News in Brief", The Times, Issue 41309, (Friday, 27 October 1916), p.15, column B.[https://www.hawthornfc.com.au/news/464517/a-rare-ww1-football-guernsey Bradshaw, Rachel, "A rare WW1 football guernsey", Hawthorn Football Club, 22 April 2018.]

Promoted as the "Pioneer Exhibition Game of Australian Football in London", Brake represented the Third Australian Divisional Team against Australian Training Units at Queen's Club, West Kensington before an estimated crowd of 3,000, including the (then) Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), and King Manuel II of Portugal. A news film was taken at the match.The original newsreel: {{YouTube | LuUjgJHLgdg | title= Australian Football (Pathé Newsreel, 1916)}}The 2019 remastered and colourised version of the original newsreel: {{YouTube | B88dBgC01YA | title= Australian Football (Pathé Newsreel, 1916), remastered and colourised version (2019)}}

As with many players at the time, World War I severely interrupted his career. In May 1919, an unidentified former Melbourne footballer, wrote to the football correspondent of The Argus as follows:

::"In 1914 the Melbourne football team, after its junction with the University, was a fine team, and succeeded in reaching the semi-finals.
Out of this combination the following players enlisted and served at the front:—
C. Lilley (seriously wounded), J. Hassett, H. Tomkins (severely wounded), J. Evans (seriously wounded), W. Hendrie, R. L. Park, J. Doubleday (died), A. Best, C. Burge (killed), C. (viz., A.) Williamson (killed), J. Brake, R. Lowell, E. Parsons (seriously wounded), A. M. Pearce (killed), F. Lugton (killed), A. George, C. Armstrong, P. Rodriguez (killed), J. Cannole (viz., Connole), A. Fraser (seriously wounded), T. Collins.
These are all players of note, and in themselves would have formed a very fine side, but there is only one of them playing at the present time, viz., C. Lilley, who, as a matter of fact, takes the field under some disability owing to severe wounds which he received on service." — The Argus, 16 May 1919.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1468346 'Old Boy', "Football: Notes and Comments", The Argus, (Friday, 16 May 1919), p.8.]

Brake continued to appear sporadically for Melbourne after World War I, finally retiring in 1921 after 17 matches with Melbourne and 98 VFL matches over all.

Brake later became a member of the VFL Tribunal.Atkinson, p. 7.

Brake enlisted in the Third Division Artillery of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) at the start of the war, reaching the rank of Lieutenant.{{cite web|title=Page - AWM133, 05-103|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/research/people/nominal_rolls/first_world_war/page.asp?p=1655944|work=First World War Nominal Roll|publisher=Australian War Memorial|accessdate=4 August 2012}}"Brake has been very anxious to volunteer, but family ties have prevented him following his own vent.": [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1509066 The League, The Argus, (Monday, 12 April 1915), p.12.][http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242416131 Footballer Joins Forces, The Herald, (Friday, 12 November 1915), p.12.]

In September 1940 he enlisted in the Second AIF, attaining the rank of Major.Service Record.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article255081983 Getting Ready for a Big Job, The Border Morning Mail, (Wednesday, 17 December 1941), p.6.]

Brake died on 16 May 1970 at Castlemaine, Victoria.[http://www.melbourneuniversityfootballclub.com.au/documents/Personalities.pdf Personalities, Melbourne University Football Club, p.4.]

• 1914 Sydney Carnival
• 1916 Pioneer Exhibition Game

{{Reflist}}

• [http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/brake-john-9570 Serle, G., "Brake, John (1890–1970)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 13, 1993.]
• [http://purl.slwa.wa.gov.au/slwa_b1874692_13.pdf?agree Pioneer Exhibition Game Australian Football: in aid of British and French Red Cross Societies: 3rd Australian Division v. Australian Training Units at Queen's Club, West Kensington, on Saturday, October 28th, 1916, at 3pm, Wightman & Co., (London), 1919.]
• Atkinson, G. (1982) Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian Rules Football but couldn't be bothered asking, The Five Mile Press: Melbourne. {{ISBN|0 86788 009 0}}.
• Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
• Richardson, N. (2016), The Game of Their Lives, Pan Macmillan Australia: Sydney. {{ISBN|978-1-7435-3666-7}}
• [https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1286962 Studio portrait of Second Lieutenant John Brake, collection of the Australian War Memorial.]
• [https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=30636 Second Lieutenant John Brake, The AIF Project.]
• [https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1068936/large/5363396.JPG World War One Nominal Roll: Second Lieutenant John Brake], collection of the Australian War Memorial.
• [https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1067263/large/5368041.JPG World War One Embarkation Roll: Second Lieutenant John Brake], collection of the Australian War Memorial.
• [http://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=628141&c=WW2 World War Two Nominal Roll: John Brake (V52492)], Department of Veterans' Affairs.
• [https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ViewPDF.aspx?B=6616668&D=D World War One Service Record: Second Lieutenant John Brake, combined with World War Two Service Record: Major John Brake (V52492)], National Archives of Australia.

{{Commons category}}

• {{AFL Tables|ref=J/Jack_Brake.html}}
• {{AustralianFootball|ref=Jack%2BBrake/2631}}
• [http://demonwiki.org/Jack+Brake DemonWiki profile]
• [http://www.boylesfootballphotos.net.au/Jack+Brake Jack Brake], at Boyles Football Photos.

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Category:1890 births

Category:University Football Club players

Category:Melbourne Football Club players

Category:Horsham Football Club players

Category:Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)

Category:Participants in the 1916 Pioneer Exhibition Game

Category:Australian military personnel of World War I

Category:University of Melbourne alumni

Category:Australian male pole vaulters

Category:1970 deaths

Category:Australian Athletics Championships winners

Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen

Category:People from Horsham, Victoria