Harvey Brothers - Early Years

Early Years

Born at Kapunda, South Australia, Horace "Horry" Harvey moved to Broken Hill, New South Wales where he worked for BHP driving horse-drawn trailers. In 1914, he married Elsie May Bitmead and their first two children, daughter Rita and son Mervyn, were born in the mining town. The family relocated to Newcastle, a mining town and harbour in New South Wales, and had two more sons, Clarence (always known as Mick, as he was born on Saint Patrick’s Day) and Harold. In 1926, the Harveys shifted to the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, a staunchly working-class, industrial area. During their relocation, Ray was born in Sydney. Horace secured a job at the confectionery company Life Savers (Australasia) Ltd, located next door to their house at 198 Argyle Street. The 19th century two-storey house was owned by the firm and was used as lodgings for the workers’ families. It no longer exists, having been demolished to make way for a textile factory. The two youngest sons Neil and Brian were born in Fitzroy.

The Cornish-descended Horry raised his family as strict Methodists, disallowing gambling, alcohol, tobacco and profanity in his household. An ardent cricketer during his years in New South Wales, he was good enough to hit 196 runs during a match in Newcastle, and he encouraged his children to play sport. He himself played for the Rita Social Club after moving to Fitzroy, while his wife kept score. His daughter was also a scorer for the club.

As recreational facilities and grass ovals were sparse in densely populated Fitzroy, the boys took to playing cricket in a cobblestone laneway between their terraced house. Here they played cricket with a tennis ball, home made cricket bat and a kerosene tin for a wicket. They were usually joined by other local children, two of whom became elite sportsmen: Allan Ruthven (an Australian rules footballer) and Harold Shillinglaw (both an Australian rules footballer and first-class cricketer)—the group also played Australian rules football, kicking around rolled up cardboard and newspaper. Much of the batting skill displayed by the Harvey brothers has been attributed to these games played on the unpredictable bounce of the bumpy laneway. The surface also had a V-shaped slope inwards towards the centre of the lane, causing balls to deviate sideways after bouncing. As the laneway meant that the playing area was long and narrow, the young boys also had to learn to play the ball straight in accordance with orthodox cricket technique. The Harveys played another form of cricket in their concreted backyard (using a marble instead of a ball) that sharpened their reflexes, and a miniature bat. All were right-handed batsmen with the exception of Neil.

All of the children attended the nearby George Street State School and, one by one, the brothers joined the Fitzroy Cricket Club as they reached their early teens. The club had a program whereby they gave a medal to local schools to award to their best cricketer in their ranks, who would then be given access to all of the club’s facilities. All of the Harvey brothers were recipients were of this medal. At Fitzroy, they came under the influence of former Victorian all-rounder Arthur Liddicut and the club’s veteran captain Joe Plant. The Harveys had no formal coaching, and their father, a regular presence at the club, chose to stay in the background as their respective careers developed. Horace did not advise his sons on how to bat, allowing them to formulate their own style and technique, something that Neil regarded as beneficial. According to the Harvey brothers, it was their mother who was vocal and extroverted, in contrast to their reserved father. The boys who failed to score runs were given kitchen duty, and according to them, their parents never showed favouritism.

During the winter, they played for the Fitzroy Baseball Club, often competing in matches played as curtain raisers to the elite Australian rules football competition, the Victorian Football League. Saturday night entertainment for the family typically consisted of dinner after the day's cricket for Fitzroy, and Plant, Liddicut and other club personnel were often invited. Under the influence of Plant and Liddicut, the boys were taught to adopt an aggressive approach, using fast feet movement to attack spin bowling in particular. In 1942–43, Neil broke into Fitzroy’s First XI, joining his older brothers Merv, Mick and Ray. During that season, the family held down the first four batting positions for Fitzroy; Merv and Mick opened the batting and Ray and Neil came in after them. The four brothers entered the Victorian team in the 1940s; Merv in 1940–41, Neil in 1946–47, and Ray and Mick in successive seasons thereafter.