Great Scot May 2020 Great Scot 159_MAY 2020_ONLINE_V3 | Page 97

was a council member (1967-76), Treasurer
(1970-71) and President (1972-73) of the Law
Institute of Victoria. A member of the Law
Council of Australia Executive (1973-76),
John was a member of the Australian
Law Reform Commission (1975-77) and
a member and conciliator of the Victorian
Solicitors’ Board.
In 1948 John joined the Australian
Labor Party, and held various offices
in it. A member of the advisory council
following the 1970 federal intervention,
he was a member of the Victorian ALP’s
administrative committee (1971-78) and
Junior Vice President of the Victorian branch
(1973-75). John successfully campaigned
against damaging left-wing elements of
the ALP.
Elected the inaugural MLA for Bundoora
on 20 March 1976, John became Shadow
Minister for Public Works (1976-77), Planning
(1977-81), Attorney-General (1979-81), and
Leader of the Opposition (1981-82).
On 8 April 1982 John became Victoria’s
first Labor Premier since his father. His
efforts in reforming the ALP were a key
reason for Labor’s victory. He became
Attorney-General (1982-83), Minister
Responsible for Women’s Affairs (1982-90)
and Minister for Ethnic Affairs (1990).
John oversaw reforms to education, the
environment, law and public administration,
and introduced extended Saturday trading
hours for retailers, and extended hours for
nightclubs and hotels – as well as legalising
nude beaches and brothels. Sunday VFL
football was permitted, but John refused
to allow VFL Park upgrades, believing the
grand final should remain at the MCG.
His government created WorkCover,
the Transport Accident Commission, the
Ethnic Affairs Commission, and the Equal
Opportunity Board, and gave Melbourne
the National Tennis Centre and Southbank.
To stimulate an economy in recession, John
increased spending.
In 1985 John won the state election
easily, becoming the first Victorian Labor
Premier to be re-elected, and in 1988 he
was narrowly re-elected. Initially able to
control ALP factions and the unions, in the
face of economic disasters, falling support,
and increased union militancy, John’s
position became untenable. He resigned as
Premier on 7 August 1990. He retired from
politics on 2 October 1992 before the state
election in which the ALP lost government.
Another Old Boy, Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (SC
1954-65), became the next Premier.
John was a professorial associate of
Melbourne University’s Department of
Political Science and an MCG Trustee. He
wrote John Cain’s Years: Power, Parties and
Politics (1994), On with the Show (1998),
and he co-authored Off Course From
Public Place to Marketplace at Melbourne
University (2004).
On 6 July 1955 John married Nancye
Evelyn Williams at Scotch. Their sons John
(SC 1971-76) and James (SC 1979-84)
attended Scotch, with James attending
Scotch while his father was Labor Premier
of Victoria – just as his father had done. The
Cains also had a daughter, Joanne.
John suffered a stroke, and died at
the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville,
on 23 December 2019. He was Victoria’s
longest-lived Premier, and was widely
lauded after his death by both sides of
politics for his ethics, humility, social justice,
and dignity. The tennis stadium created by
his government is to be renamed John Cain
Arena in his honour.
CROW, Thomas Leslie ('49)
Thomas Leslie Crow was born at
Callantina Road, Hawthorn on 23 August
1931, the son of John Avon Crow (born 6
October 1893, SC 1914-15, died 17 August
1973). Among his many relatives at Scotch
were his brothers John Malcolm Crow
(born 26 May 1924, SC 1935-41, died 9
September 1990) and Peter Douglas Crow
(born 18 September 1926, SC 1937-43, died
18 May 2019), and grandsons Matthew (SC
2002-09), Will (SC 2004-09) and Charles
Marvin (SC 2006-09), and Tom Crow (SC
2005-07).
Tom attended Scotch from 1942 to
1950. He was a member of the 1st XI from
1947 to 1950, captaining it from 1948 to
1950. A member of the 1st XVIII (1948-50),
he was acting Vice Captain in 1949 and
Vice Captain in 1950. Tom was a member
of the Swimming team (1944-46) and the
1950 Athletics team. He was Vice Captain
of Lawson-MacFarland House (1948-49),
a 1948 Probationer, a 1949 Prefect, and
1950 School Captain. As Scotch’s best
all-rounder, he won the H I Cohen Trophy for
cricket from 1948 to 1950.
Tom played 28 matches for
Collingwood’s District 1st XI (1950-51 to
1952-53) and one match for Victoria (1951-
52), scoring 61 not out and taking 3/54.
Playing golf for Victoria (1953-63), he won
the Victorian Close Championship (1953)
and the Victorian Amateur Championship
(1956), breaking the course record for Royal
Melbourne. He played golf for Australia
(1959-64) and for New South Wales
(1964-65). In 1961 Tom won the Australian
Amateur Championship. That year, on 19
May, he married Carol-Ann Gordon (Cally)
Guest at Scotch. In 1962 they had a son,
James, followed in 1964 by Annabelle.
After working as Manager for British
Open champion Peter Thomson (1958-59),
Tom joined Precision Golf Forging in 1960,
becoming its National and International
Marking Director (1965-73). In September
1973 Tom moved to the United States,
founding Cobra Golf Inc., hoping to tap
the high-end golf club market. After
incorporating Cobra Golf Inc. II in 1978, the
company grew rapidly. The Baffler, its first
product, was introduced in 1980 and helped
move balls out of difficult lies on the golf
course. Aggressive marketing resulted in
sales of about US$4.5m by 1985. A new line
introduced in 1985 with light, graphite shafts
appealed to a broad market.
In 1990 Tom became Vice Chairman
and Chief Designer, and his friendship with
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