What happens when a family archive reveals that one of Vancouver's most colourful historical figures had been living under an assumed name — and that his previous life held secrets buried for more than a century?
Author and retired newspaper editor John Fuller joins the Victoria Genealogical Society to tell the remarkable story behind his book,
Fame, Fortune, and Fear: The Rise and Fall of Con Jones.
Con Jones was one of British Columbia's great sporting promoters and entrepreneurs in the early twentieth century, building an empire of billiard parlours, professional sports teams and tobacco shops. But the flamboyant public figure Vancouver knew as Con Jones had once been Thomas Shortel, an Australian bookmaker who vanished from Sydney following a sensational scandal in 1903.
Drawing on an extraordinary collection of family letters, diaries, photographs and scrapbooks, Fuller spent years reconstructing Jones's two lives. Genealogical research proved indispensable, helping him trace family connections, establish identities and uncover relationships that transformed his understanding of the man behind the public legend.
For his Victoria audience, Fuller will place special emphasis on two aspects of this extraordinary story.
First, he will explore Con Jones's connections with Victoria, where his sporting ambitions, controversial dealings and fiercely contested lacrosse matches — including encounters at the old Oak Bay lacrosse grounds, now Windsor Park — helped shape the course of his career. One particularly dramatic episode in Victoria would have far-reaching consequences for Jones's fortunes.
Second, Fuller will take members behind the scenes of his research, showing how genealogical detective work helped him unravel a century-old mystery, connect families across two continents and bring a forgotten Australian past back into the historical record.
Fuller is presenting an earlier version of his talk to the Vancouver Historical Society on October 22, 2026. A recording is expected to be available on the Vancouver Historical Society's website by early November. The Victoria presentation will be specially adapted for VGS members, with fresh emphasis on local history and the genealogical discoveries that made the book possible.
John Fuller is a retired editor with 30 years' experience in daily newspapers and the author of
Fame, Fortune, and Fear: The Rise and Fall of Con Jones (2025). His research draws extensively on a remarkable family archive inherited from his forebears, including material now preserved in the City of Vancouver Archives. Formerly a Vancouver resident, he now lives in Nova Scotia.
Learn more about the book and its author, and follow his adventure in taking the story of Con Jones to the world, at
https://john-fuller.ca/
IMPORTANT TIME ZONE INFORMATION
This event will be delivered from within the new Pacific Canada Time Zone (PCT) (UTC-07:00) where daylight savings time applies year-round. Please disregard any information to the contrary.
For those living in a different time zone, please calculate your start time carefully so you don't miss the event.