Chris Masters’ unauthorised biography of Alan Jones will be in the bookshops today, and has been excerpted in the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age. Jones is not on air this morning on his 2GB breakfast program, regular back-up Jason Morrison is filling in for him this week.

The book speaks about Jones’ sexuality, his time as a boarding master and rugby coach, as well as his career as a broadcaster. It also explores Jones’ championing of causes and his correspondence to government ministers lobbying on behalf of various individuals.

In Saturday’s SMH excerpt from the book, Chris Masters says:

“Over time I thought of Alan Jones as leading seven lives – not one of them his own. Read on and you will meet them all. There is the blokey, foul-mouthed ex-football coach; the courtly, non-swearing charmer of older women; the farmer’s (miner’s/union official’s/teacher’s) son; the thwarted prime minister; the ombudsman of Struggle Street; the Oxford orator; and the hidden homosexual, forever hunting for love among the twentysomethings. The masking of his homosexuality is a defining feature of the Jones persona… ”

At 13 Jones left the family farm and was sent to Toowoomba Grammar boarding school. Masters believes “boarding schools made him” and “turned the boy into a bully.” As a teacher at Brisbane Grammar Jones is remembered as inspiring but divisive.

“Parents were worried. There was no evidence of physical impropriety, but some of his favourites found themselves having to break free from intense attachments.”

Writing about Jones’ time as a teacher and boarding master at The Kings School in Sydney, Masters says:

“There were plenty of students and teachers at King’s who saw through Alan and, in the end, managed to apply a kind of accountability not often seen since…

“For all that had been achieved on the sporting field, 1974 was the end of the road for Jones at King’s. Stanley Kurrle, now retired for many years and conscious of ongoing speculation about the reasons for Jones’s departure, explained that tension had risen to such a point that it seemed only a matter of time before a parent or parents brought a lawsuit against Jones and the school.

“My concern was for him. He was a highly able, terribly energetic schoolmaster and I could see him hurting himself. We talked it over and I said I think it is in your interests that you should look elsewhere. I think he came to see that.”

“Jones had lost a career and a kingdom. He had been around boarding schools for 20 years. For the best part of two decades fine young men surrounded him and fought for his favour.”

Writing about Alan Jones’ arrest for indecency, while staying at a flat in London owned by Rene Rivkin, Masters writes:

“Two plain-clothes officers had been watching the underground public toilet at Broadwick Street from the roof and a nearby corner. They had seen a man in an aqua-coloured Lacoste sweater enter the toilet and became suspicious when he stayed inside for a longer than usual period.

“Jones was arrested and taken to the Mayfair station, where he was charged with “outraging public decency” and “committing an indecent act”. It is only fair to point out that prosecuting authorities were ultimately unprepared to present any evidence to support the charges…

It was dawn on a Tuesday when the story broke in Australia. First glimpses are commonly fleeting and newsrooms had only sketchy details of a high-profile Australian arrested on a morals charge. Alerted by bureau chief John Highfield, ABC London correspondent Peter Cave was concerned not just about identifying the right person, but the right Alan Jones…

“When Cave found Alan’s address he hurried to the Mayfair flat and knocked on the door. Although he thought he heard someone inside, the door stayed shut. Given the circumstances, the no-nonsense ex-serviceman doorman, who had seen Jones enter, became worried that he might have harmed himself. So he knocked again, and then used his keys to open the door to reveal an ashen Jones. Cave, recognising the former rugby coach, introduced himself and asked whether he wished to comment. Jones declined and closed the door.”

The excerpts continue in the Herald over the next two days and the book is published by Allen and Unwin. Click below for the A&U website.