CARUANA, John Francis

BORN SEPTEMBER 29TH 1914 in Steyning Sussex England, the son of Alfred Joseph Caruana CIE and Kathleen Alethea Mary Harvey, [2] he grew up in India where his father, a Colonel in the Indian Army, served as Judge Advocate-General. It was a contribution that earned Alfred a knighthood, the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE). [3] John returned to England and managed Sports Stadium Brighton, one of England's biggest sporting and entertainment venues. He also managed the Empress Hall in London's Earl's Court, a major ice rink and entertainment arena seating 7000 which was home to London's ice spectaculars from 1935.

Caruana did not skate, but both venues were a part of the British ice hockey circuit in the years the English National League was the biggest amateur league in the world. Formed from the English League (1931-35) in which Jim Brown (Grosvenor House Canadians) and Ken Kennedy (Birmingham Maple Leafs) had played, the ENL rinks included Earl's Court, Wembley, Harringay, Nottingham, and Streatham managed by Dunbar Poole, the first manager of Sydney Glaciarium.

His marriage on May 27th 1940 to show skater, Rona Thaell, took place in Miami Florida soon after Rona appeared in Sonja Henie's revue at Madison Square Garden and Wirtz's All Star European Revue, Hello America. Rona had performed in Australia in the Thirties with her brother, Cliff, and Caruana returned with her after the war in 1948 to take up the post of General Manager of Sydney Glaciarium following Reg Leafe's retirement. Rona became head of professional instructional staff. The couple were in their mid-thirties, and each in their own way held world-class ice sports credentials.

The Producer of the original (All Star) European Ice Revue in London, Caruana brought back the Glaciarium Ice Revues which Rona began with her brother Cliff in the Thirties in Sydney. The proceeds went to charities such as the Spastic Centre, The Sun Toy Fund and Legacy, providing amenities for sick children in all state public hospitals. Among the professional skating staff were seven gold medalists including Rona, Percy Wilson, Alison Lyons and Mirey Reid. John introduced a method of group instruction popular in England, so that parents who could not afford private lessons were able to have their children taught skating. "We had 70 to 80 children in our group classes at Earl's Court," Rona said.

The Caruanas arrived at a time of fierce rivalry between the two larger Sydney rinks, the Glaciarium and the Ice Palais managed by Harry Betro. Charlie Fisher managed the small Dungowan ice rink (1949-50) in Manly which hosted the state's only junior hockey. A similar rivalry existed in Melbourne between the Glaciarium and Kleiner's St Moritz. To add to the complexity, a breakaway ice hockey association had formed down south the year the Caruanas arrived.

Rink managers became more demanding of ice hockey and speed skating during the Forties, and John understood ice sports and supported them. Among the first rink managers to attend state association meetings led by Ken Kennedy, he helped produce such innovations as a more marketable naming of club jerseys in line with the promotions of Jimmy Bendrodt back in 1938. In 1950, Clubs became Wests Tigers, Easts Monarchs, Glebe Lions, St George Dragons. The publicity Bendrodt generated for his Canadian Bears changed forever the idea of ice hockey as a welcome variation to general skating sessions.

The state ice hockey association now aspired to commercial entertainment in its own right. John suggested ice hockey clubs organise supporter fan clubs to attract a greater following. He gained many concessions from the rink owners for promoting ice hockey and speed skating, and rarely missed meetings of the association.

In 1955, John's eighth season, the owners of "the Glaci" on Broadway closed it, no longer able to afford the repair bills of the aging building and plant. The gap left by one of Sydney's favourite social hubs was huge. Without it there was nowhere to skate in the city until 1957 when the quarter-size Regal Ice Skating Rink at Five Dock opened in in the converted Regal Theatre, corner of Great North Road and Second Avenue.

Under public pressure, Sydney City Council redesigned plans for Prince Alfred Park on the former site of the Exhibition Building in Chalmers Street Surrey Hills. The proposed pool, close to the Central Railway Station and the former Glaciarium, now included an adjacent open-air ice rink. Molony & Gordon at St Moritz in Melbourne were first lessees when it opened on June 2nd 1959 with Caruana as manager, and Rona as head of skating instruction. The five clubs returned to international-size ice on July 26th 1959. Their affiliation fees were waived for the start-up season, and so too were the capitation fees of the national association. Clubs picked teams from a pool of senior and reserve grade players.

Ice hockey had lapsed for some years and Caruana eventually felt compelled to ask Syd Tange to take charge of a special coaching class as a gesture from the rink management to help rebuild the sport. He offered the association free ice time for coaching juniors between 8:00 am and 9:30 am on Saturday mornings, providing state secretary Syd Tange supervised the sessions. The juniors also enjoyed the public skating sessions that followed free of charge. Experienced players formed a coaching panel with the emphasis on basic skating skills.

Puck-handling and shooting followed as sticks became available, then scrimmages as skills improved. There was still no junior competition; the first new wave of youngsters wore figure skates and no protective gear. But, pleased with progress, Caruana donated pennants for a one round competition at the end of the season. The coaching panel selected the teams, the boys selected their captains, and the winning captain wrote a letter of thanks to the manager for his support.

The coaching class continued for the term of the St Moritz lease, with most students joining clubs and gaining interstate honours. Caruana's approach at PA extended over the boards and out of the rink, to the young people of the district who were experiencing domestic problems. A meal at PA was always available, along with use of the rink facilities until their situation improved.

PA ice was often soft and wet on a sunny day, and matches were later moved to the nighttime. But the rink received huge public support when it opened, and it also proved a financial success thanks to crowds of two thousand or more at the public sessions on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Many students in the Saturday morning classes joined the "Pee Wees" junior league competition when it began. Separate to established clubs, the Alaskans, Malibu, Vikings, Jags, Blades, Sabres, and Ice Breakers competed for the Streets Junior Ice Hockey Trophy donated by Harry Curtis, president of the Glebe Lions and a director of the ice cream company. In later years, the Glebe Lions, Canterbury United and Finn Eagles joined in.

In 1967, a state association committee reported that junior hockey in the state and Victoria had reached a standard that warranted a 16 years-and-under Junior Interstate Series. By 1968, ice hockey had fully recovered from the closure of Sydney Glaciarium, and an influx of overseas players joined senior competition.

Caruana and Tange hosted the first match of the Junior Interstate Competition at the Canterbury Ice Rink in 1969, and the second at Prince Alfred Park. The Tange Trophy has been a part of the national ice hockey scene ever since. Among the names of the inaugural Victorian champions were Greg Charman, Carl Fivola, John Horsnell (Best & Fairest), Sandy Gardner and Greg Argue.

Caruana allowed Willi Pholi, a young indigenous Australian, to stay overnight at the Glaciarium, which gave him ample time for skating and practice to achieve his aim of playing ice hockey. He lived at Sutherland in Sydney, which presented a problem getting to and from the Prince Alfred Park ice rink. At 16, Willi captained the 1970 state Tange Trophy Team. It was just the second year of the national tournament, which NSW won for the first time.

Also that year in Melbourne, Willi played for St George Leyland in the Australian Club Championships, captained by Phil Hall, with Roddy Bruce in net, Rob Dewhurst, Allan Harvey and Jim Lynch. The St George team manager considered Willi the most promising player in Australia, and he is considered the first indigenous Australian to play ice hockey.

By then, Caruana's contribution to Australian ice hockey and skating had spanned twenty years of rebuilding, following the loss of every rink in the state. He lived with Rona in Surfer's Paradise, Queensland, in 1980. [2] Rona died there soon after her 100th birthday in June 2012.