Belgian flag signed by Dame Nellie Melba c1915

Summary

This flag brings together two of Melbourne’s more extraordinary citizens. One, the opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, was adored internationally. The other, entrepreneur, illegal tote operator and philanthropist, John Wren, was so local that the balance between love and loathing for him swung wildly depending on how far you travelled socially and geographically from working class Collingwood.

On 27 April 1915 they were both in Melbourne Town Hall, she as the star of a show to raise money for the Belgian Relief Fund, he as a patriot willing to donate 100 pounds (!) to the cause, for which he received this flag. The opening paragraph of the relevant report in The Age gushed...
'...To convey an idea, of the success that attended Madame Melba's concert at the Town Hall last night it is only necessary to state that the Belgian Relief Fund will benefit by £6310 as a result of her patriotic endeavors. But while the singer was actuated by her patriotism, it was upon the artist that the unbounded enthusiasm of the audience was bestowed, and the demonstration that took place at the conclusion of the concert bore eloquent testimony to the fact. The building was completely filled by a brilliant audience, and the concert — in which Melba was assisted by Mr. Robert Parker, Mr. John Lemmone, Mr. W. L. Paine, Dr. W. G. Price and Master Cecil Parkes — was a notable success...'

It is unknown what Wren thought of Melba or the concert but it is fair to say that his name was not synonymous with the arts. Collingwood Football Club and the Catholic Church were the main recipients of his considerable largesse.

Incidentally, Melba had written to the Town Clerk asking that Council waive the usual fee for the use of Town Hall, which it did. Only the reply still exists in correspondence files; no doubt the letter by Melba was ‘souvenired’ years ago.