H. C. A. Harrison

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H.C.A. Harrison in his later life
H.C.A. Harrison in his later life

Henry Colden Antill Harrison (16 October 1836 – 2 September 1929) was a notable early Australian rules football player and administrator. He was named Champion of the Colony (the forerunner of the Brownlow Medal) five times between 1862 and 1869.[1]

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[edit] Early life and professional work

Harrison was born at Picton, New South Wales, the son of John Harrison, a sea captain who had become a grazier. In about 1837, the family moved to the Port Phillip District, and took up land on the Plenty River about 20 miles (32 km) from Melbourne. Some years later, they moved to the present site of St Arnaud.

In about 1850, Harrison's father, being broken in health, moved to Melbourne. Henry had already been sent at the beginning of the year to the Diocesan Grammar School (the forerunner of Melbourne Grammar). After leaving school, he spent a short time in the Victorian goldfields, H. C. A. Harrison entered formal employment at the Victorian Customs Department at the end of 1853. He married his cousin, Emily Wills, in 1864 and they had four daughters.

Harrison remained with Customs for 35 years, before transferring to the Titles Office in 1888. He eventually became Registrar of Titles, before retiring in 1900. His autobiography, The Story of an Athlete, was published in 1923. Harrison died at Kew, in Melbourne, on 2 September 1929, at age of 92.

[edit] Athlete

Harrison did not discover he was a good runner until he was 22 years of age, but soon afterwards he became the finest amateur runner of his period, and his matches against L. L. Mount of Ballarat caused much public interest. He does not appear to have been a first-rate sprinter, his time in the hundred was usually about four yards over evens. His 440 yards (400 metres), on a grass track of the period, in 50¼ seconds was, however, a fine performance.

[edit] Football and cricket

Harrison's cousin Tom Wills began to codify Australian rules football in Melbourne, in 1858. Wills' game eventually became the most popular kind of football of in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania. Some sources state that Harrison was involved and/or that he took part in the drafting of the first set rules, by the Melbourne Football Club (1859); Wills and Harrison were later recognised as the "Fathers" of Australian rules. However, there is no hard evidence that Harrison was involved in the development of Australian rules during the 1850s.

By 1866, Harrison was involved in drafting a revised set of rules, which were adopted at a meeting of delegates from Melbourne football clubs, on May 8. A major development in these revised rules was Rule 8, which read: "[T]he ball may be taken in hand at any time, but not carried further than is necessary for a kick, and no player shall run with the ball unless he strikes it against the ground every five or six yards." Harrison was successively captain of the Richmond, Melbourne and Geelong clubs, and then of Melbourne again.

He was elected a member of the committee of the Melbourne Cricket Club in 1871, and was a vice-president from 1892 until his death.

Harrison retired from football in 1872 at the age of 36. He once stated that he considered that the reason of his being able to stay so long was that he did not begin his athletic career until he was over 20. When the Victorian Football Association was formed in 1877, Harrison was elected vice-president, and in 1905 he was chairman of the first Australian Football Council.

Following his retirement, Harrison was president of the Melbourne Football Club from 1897 to 1906.

A building, "Harrison House" in Spring Street, Melbourne, was named after him. It was purchased by the VFL in the 1920s to become their new headquarters[2], but later sold and demolished in the 1980s despite appeals from various heritage organisations of its historical significance.

(The Harrison Medal, which is awarded to the best player in Division 2 at the AFL U18 National Championships is often mistakenly thought to be named in his honour. It is, however, named after longtime NTFL administrator Hunter C. Harrison.)

[edit] References

  1. ^ (2005) in Michael Lovett: AFL Record Guide to Season 2005, 486. ISBN 0-9580300-6-5. 
  2. ^ Ian Turner, 'Harrison, Henry Colden Antill (1836-1929)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol.4, Melbourne University Press, 1972, p.353

[edit] External links