Tom Carlyon

Tom Carlyon
1927 caricature by Reynolds
Personal information
Full name Thomas Symington Carlyon
Born (1902-04-27)27 April 1902
Ballarat, Victoria
Died 14 March 1982(1982-03-14) (aged 79)
Malvern, Victoria
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 79 kg (174 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1923 St Kilda 2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1923.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Thomas Symington Carlyon (27 April 1902 – 14 March 1982) was an Australian hotelier, horse racing administrator, and military officer in World War II. As a young man, he excelled at rowing, and, at the age of 21, played Australian rules football with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Early life and education

Thomas Symington Carlyon Jnr was born on 27 April 1902 in Ballarat, the son of Thomas Symington Carlyon Snr (1866–1925), former steamboat captain on the Murray River and later Victorian hotelier, whose hotel chain included the Esplanade Hotel ("The Espy") in St Kilda.

He attended Geelong Grammar School, where he was a member of the rowing team in 1920.

Career

Sport

Carlyon played in two games for St Kilda in the VFL at the age of 21.

Business

Carlyon often managed his father's hotels during his absences overseas, and took over his father's interests in the hotel industry after his death.

He worked for some time as a bellhop page in The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, United States, where he gained practical and theoretical knowledge of the Boomer hotel chain. After returning to Australia, he continued to work in his father's businesses. In January 1930, he was appointed general manager of Usher's Hotel in Sydney.

He later became an administrator in the horse racing industry.

War service

Carlyon joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1939, becoming a squadron leader.

Honours

On 13 October 1944 Carlyon was awarded an O.B.E. for his war service, which was presented to him in Melbourne in March 1947.

He was made CMG on 1 January 1968, "for services to horse racing".

Personal life

Carlyon had two brothers who also worked in the hotel industry, one of whom was Norman.

He had at least one son, Thomas Scott Carlyon, born around 1929, who was also a hotelier.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Guerin, Andrew (January 2021). "Carlyon, Thomas S". Australian Rowing History. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Tom Carlyon - Player Bio". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Tom Carlyon". AFL Tables. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  4. ↑ "Death of Mr. T. Carlyon". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 24, 712. Victoria, Australia. 21 October 1925. p. 24. Retrieved 5 June 2026 – via National Library of Australia. He leaves a widow, three sons (Messrs. Dean, Thomas, and Norman Carlyon) and a daughter (Mrs. Scott)
  5. ↑ Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2014). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.). Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-921496-32-5.
  6. ↑ "Prominent Personalities T. S. CARLYON". Table Talk. No. 3089. Victoria, Australia. 21 July 1927. p. 15. Retrieved 4 June 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. 1 2 "Bell-hop son of rich man". Sunday Times. No. 2369. New South Wales, Australia. 12 January 1930. p. 2. Retrieved 5 June 2026 – via National Library of Australia. Mr. Thomas Symington Carlyon, new general manager of Usher's Hotel, Sydney, is one of those oddities. His appointment to Usher's brings to the hotel life of this city representation of a Melbourne family and enterprise which are known in all quarters of the globe.
  8. 1 2 3 "STATE OF NEW SOUTH WALES: C.M.G" (PDF). The London Gazette. 1 January 1968. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "Thomas Symington Carlyon". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood" (PDF). The London Gazette. 13 October 1944. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "R A A F AWARDS TO 22 VICTORIANS Medical Officer's Courage". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 30, 618. Victoria, Australia. 14 October 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 5 June 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ↑ "Thomas Symington Carlyon". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  13. 1 2 "Hotel to return to family". The Herald. No. 22, 911. Victoria, Australia. 27 October 1950. p. 3. Retrieved 5 June 2026 – via National Library of Australia. Mr Thomas Symington Carlyon, junior, is the original Mr Carlyon's second son... Thomas Scott Carlyon, 21, Mr Tom Carlyon Junior's son, is also in the hotel business.