ABOUT EDWIN FLACK

Edwin Flack was born in London on 5 November 1873. He migrated to Melbourne in the care of his parents, Joseph Henry and Marian Flack, arriving in September 1874. He attended Melbourne Grammar School between 1886 and 1892.

After obtaining experience in accounting with Davey Flack & Co in Melbourne and Price Waterhouse & Co in London (where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant), Edwin returned to Australia in 1898 and in 1904 joined his father in partnership as Flack & Flack, Chartered Accountants.

Edwin achieved considerable success as a middle distance runner and repesented Australia in the first Modern Olympics held in Athens in April 1896. He won Australia's first ever Olympic "gold" medals, winning both the 800 and 1,500 metre events

In 1914 he was appointed an Australian representative to the Olympic Congress, Paris.

In 1917 he became the Senior Partner of Flack & Flack which later became Price Waterhouse, and in turn PricewaterhouseCoopers, in Australia. He purchased the property, "Burnbank" in Berwick, Victoria and established a well-regarded Friesian cattle stud. He also held directorships in leading Australian companies.

Edwin died on 10 January 1935 and his ashes were interred in the Berwick cemetery. Edwin did not marry and the name, "Marian" included in the name of the Trust, is that of his mother.

Edwin Flack's original 1896 "gold" medals, memorabilia and diaries have been loaned by the trustees on a permanent basis for display at the National Sports Museum, located at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Other items of interest

• The Edwin Flack Reserve located in Berwick
• A postage stamp of EH Flack was released by Australia Post in 1996
• The inaugural Australian Olympic Committee Edwin Flack Lecture was delivered in 1998
• A bronze statue of Edwin Flack was unveiled in High Street, Berwick in 1998
• A street running alongside the Olympic Stadium in Sydney was named Edwin Flack Avenue in 1999
• The Olympic Torch relay passed through Berwick and stopped for a community luncheon celebration at the Edwin Flack Reserve on 7 August 2000
• In 2004 the training oval, running track and training facilities adjacent to the Olympic Park Stadium in Melbourne, were named the Edwin Flack Field