Walter Lindrum

"[This quote needs a citation] Walter's older brother, Frederick William Lindrum III, became professional Australian Billiards Champion in 1909.

He lost the tip of his index finger on his right hand in an accident in 1901,[4] and his father taught him to play billiards left-handed.

By the age of 16, Walter was regularly making breaks of over 1,000 points during practice at the London Tavern, Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, where Fred Lindrum II was running a three-table billiard parlour.

[7] It was not until 1929 that Willie Smith, World Champion in 1920 and 1923, and one of the best English billiards players of the time, visited Australia and played three fairly even matches against Lindrum.

With both players being one match up, Lindrum was forced to abandon the third game midway through, upon the death of his wife due to heart failure.

[This quote needs a citation][11] On 19 February 1931, Lindrum gave a billiards exhibition for the King and other members of the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace.

King George V presented Lindrum with a pair of gold and enamel cuff links bearing the royal monogram.

These formed part of Lindrum's essential attire for the remainder of his playing career, and he wore them daily for the rest of his life.

After the debacle of the 1932 North American tour and his winning of the 1933 World Championship, Lindrum argued that he should be allowed to defend his title in Australia.

While some made the criticism that Lindrum's play was somewhat mechanical and lacked style, rival and six-time World Champion Tom Newman wrote: "It is the greatest injustice you can do to Walter to call him a scoring machine.

In 1933 on a tour to South Africa Lindrum claimed a new world record for fast scoring when he completed 1,000 points in 28 minutes in Johannesburg.

[5] The cause of death was officially listed as heart failure, but it has alternatively been suggested that he died as a result of food poisoning from a steak and kidney pie.

[5] He was buried at Melbourne General Cemetery, with champion cyclist Sir Hubert Opperman raising the funds for a distinctive monument consisting of a billiards table, complete with balls and cue; more than fifty years after his death the site reportedly remains the most visited grave in this substantial cemetery.

In 2023, it was reported by the Australian Financial Review that Lindrum's family "continues to squabble about who owns real estate and valuable memorabilia for three generations after his death".

A case heard in the County Court of Victoria in September 2023 concerned the ownership of Lindrum's memorabilia in the context of an alleged trust agreement established in 1966.

[13] In 1981 Lindrum was honoured on a postage stamp issued by Australia Post, which featured a caricature of him by famed artist Tony Rafty.

His house in Melbourne at 158 Kerferd Road, Albert Park, is noted for its historical association with him by the Port Phillip Council.

Lindrum is generally regarded as one of the all-time great Australian sporting heroes, along with the likes of Donald Bradman, Heather McKay, Margaret Court, Haydn Bunton, Sr. and Hubert Opperman.

As Littlewood reported it, Lindrum "deliberately played to make a cannon in which the white balls were left touching, and succeeded.

Lindrum (left) and British opponent Tom Newman in 1930
1929 World Record Cue, Commonwealth Club , Canberra
Walter Lindrum's distinctive grave in Melbourne General Cemetery