Changes! (1960 - 1969)
The sixties was the decade of the questioning of the status quo, where the young did not automatically accept the rules and views of the establishment and those older than themselves. Many of those “older ones” found the new attitudes difficult to accept and adapt to. The Harlequin Club was no exception. Most of the committee had been members of the club for many years and quite a few members had joined prior to the War. How was this traditional group going to cope with the change? In many cases not very well! Some committee members thought that people did not just join Harlequins; rather they needed to be invited to ensure that only the right types could become members. This snobbish approach was probably adopted because the London Harlequins did the same. We lost some good players, among them Bob Kingman, who went to Melbourne RUFC as a result.
This decade started off without any warning that it was to be a breakthrough period that took the Harlequins to the top of the tree in Victorian rugby with a string of achievements: Premierships in all grades firsts, seconds, thirds and colts; worthy champion club; our first (not shared) club ground at Glen Iris complete with the notorious "Shed" where we all learnt to tap an 18 gallon barrel for after match festivities. We used to pay 10 shillings each (about one dollar in current money) to drink until the keg ran dry! Then the momentous decision to purchase our own land, construct two pitches and a clubhouse - and a Wallaby being chosen from our own team!
All this was achieved by a strong contingent of administrators from the "old guard" supported by the emergence of a number of new faces from the ranks who would, in the future, serve the club and the State at the highest levels in playing, coaching, refereeing and administration for a long period of time.
The backbone of the "old guard" were people like: Harry Nelson, who replaced Ron Bolton as President after his 12 years in the role; Don Strang, donor of the V.R.U. seven-a-side Trophy and winners medals, as well as provider of the dozen, which was raffled after every game, to generate some funds for the club. The clubhouse at Ashwood was named in his honour. The Strang family headed by Don's son John have continued to be great benefactors of the club and three Strangs played for the club each decade from the thirties to the seventies); Harry Baldwin, who had held practically every committee position over a period of 16 years; Rodney Stone (father of Harlequin Park at Dandenong) and, of course, Ron Bolton, who did just about everything in the club from its first season in 1929, but what is not readily known is that he played for Victoria the only time they triumphed over NSW. That was in 1934 at the Sydney Cricket ground where he accompanied two other Harlequins, Sir Charles Moses and Fred Shore. Perhaps the greatest contributor to the Harlequins ranks were the four generations of the Penwill family.
The Harlequins ''emergers" from this time, who later became the backbone of the " oldies " in the club and who served in many different capacities over the years, were Keith Jones as President, Hon Auditor, team secretary and a tower of strength in the V.R.U., Stan Gyles, David Bray, all of whom served as either President or Secretary or both! Col Rowlinson was amongst that emerging band and he also gave enormous service to the V.R.U. and the A.R.F.U. where he served as Deputy Chairman. He was invited to tour by that body with the Wallabies on two tours of France, England and Wales as well as the 1991 World Cup. Andy Corp, who never aspired to be President or Secretary, nevertheless contributed in countless ways to the successes of the club. Stan Shaw, who timed his arrival in 1962 to perfection winning a first grade premiership in his debut year, went on to coach, referee and perhaps most importantly played a major role in the development of Ashwood.
We also carried on the tradition of singing ribald rugby songs at the club into the eighties, although the tradition had already died out in the UK by the late sixties.
Our playing style at the beginning of the 60's was rather rustic and forward dominated. We even used to practice dribbling the ball along the ground in a pack, urged on by the call of “feet”! Our first team captain was Mike Woods, who had played some 70 games of Aussie Rules in the Melbourne VFL first team on the hallowed turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground. No one knew what had brought him from Aussie rules to rugby, so we tracked him down and asked him. This was his reply.
It began in 1944 as an ordinary seaman second class at Flinders
Mike has managed to encapsulate the attraction of rugby to thousands of travellers who find friendship and fellowship through rugby in many parts of the world. Nevertheless, he was an inspiring player and captain who managed to gain selection for Victoria in 1956 and two subsequent years. The same went for Randy Cresswell, who’s the trip to London enabled us to recruit a very talented Aussie rules player. Quite a change, however, from 70.000 screaming fans at the MCG to two men and a dog at Fawkner Park with cold showers in the public changing rooms. “The Encylopedia of League Footballers” by Jim Main and Russell Holmesby, published in 1994, had the following entry for Mike Woods.
Melbourne 1949-53, 72 games, 6 goals. A strong powerful ruckman
If you had told him then that the MCG would be the venue for an All Blacks v Wallabies game in the 90's with a world record crowd in excess of 90,000 he would have thought you had consumed too much amber fluid.
Although we had a good side with a significant fillip when we were joined by J van Gelder, a touring Wallaby, courtesy of Tiger Tiger Colemen, our ill-fated 1956 coach, 1960 and 1961 were relatively uneventful seasons on the playing field. Our second team suffered regularly by losing its better players to the first team without having their own source of players in the third team. Their seasons were also unremarkable.
1962 started quietly, and the first team found it difficult to stay in touch with the "four". Our coach Harry Cessford, who brought some methods to the club that we had not seen since Dud Soane in the mid 50’s, was at a loss to understand it. Half way through the season we suffered a humiliating 40 points defeat at the hands of the reigning premiers Melbourne University. This was a big score in the days of 3 points for a try. However that game was the turning point. Captain David Shepherd and Harry Cessford turned up the heat at training with a few well-chosen words and, occasionally, a little physical confrontation. A commitment to training was made by the players and a few new faces appeared from outside the club. Alex Ward (one cap for Yorkshire at the age of 18 ), Michael Craft ( an ACT rep ), Stan Shaw and Charlie Shaw ( not related ) and Don McPherson ( NSW Country Rep) signedup. Four new backs and a canny hooker to support an already excellent pack of forwards looked like making a difference, and they did.
We started to win at the business end of the season and climbed to 5th on the ladder. With one game to go we had to beat Navy at Flinders in order to make the "four". Navy were always a difficult side to beat, particularly away. The services sides had all the advantages, such as time to train, better facilities and players from the major rugby states of N.S.W. and Queensland.
It was an unpleasant day with a cold biting wind coming off Western Port Bay and alas after a tough struggle (those were the years of compulsory national service and all the Forces sides were strong ) Harlequins were a point down and with only a few minutes to go were battling hard in our own half. The fairy story for 1962 started right there. We got to the half way line and Navy gave away a penalty. David Shepherd considered a kick for touch but as they would have had the throw-in under the Laws at that time he was not certain. Mike Craft, our kicker, said that, even with a following wind, he couldn't make the distance for a shot at goal. Shepherd then made an inspired decision. He threw the ball to Randy Cresswell, who had represented Victoria as an amateur Australian Rules player. "Try a drop goal Randy". We all thought that from half way and with the awful old balls we used to play with, it was just too far. Randy, however - ever the amiable, obliging chap - took a long run up and put the boot to ball. Were we to see our season end here? With that cold biting, but following wind, that we had not enjoyed, over it went. The referee blew his whistle for time, and we were in the four at the death knock.
There was a brief interlude the week before the finals started with the playing of the V.R.U. seven-a-side Championship. Thirty-two teams entered, and Harlequins played Melbourne University in the Final. It was a thrilling game with a win for us 11 points to 3. The Harlequins winning side was presented with the Donald Strang Cup and the players, Dave Shepherd, Randy Creswell, John Penwill, Stan Shaw, Tony Knevitt, Mike Goodburn, and Mike Plumbridge, - not at all a bad side by any standard - each received a medallion. The sniff of beating University in the grand final was getting stronger!
The finals series commenced with the Harlequins disposing of third placed Melbourne 12 points to 3 in a tight game and then played superb rugby the following Saturday to beat Powerhouse 22 points to 0. The side was definitely on the up and the appearance of two Melbourne University selectors to watch us training at Mercantile Rowing Club gave us a great rev-up, particularly as we had to deal with the loss of Ray Hughes and Charlie Shaw to injury after the Powerhouse game. Stan Shaw moved from centre to five eighth, Mike Plumbridge came into the side as a centre and Keith Jones at half-back.
Before the game David Shepherd said a few ominous words which don't bear repeating in this text but he made it very clear that everyone was putting life and limb on the line - or else - and the fact that Melbourne University had 14 State players in the side as well as Wallaby Geoff Vaughan as Captain, meant "Absolutely *******. Nothing! – Do you hear me?” We erupted onto Olympic Park
Team members were:
- C.Clark
- M.Craft
- M.Goodburn
- M.Plumbridge
- A.Knevitt
- S.Shaw
- K.Jones
- D.Shepherd (Captain)
- J.Penwill
- H.Devlin
- R.Creswell
- J.Watson
- D.Nicol
- D.McPherson
- R.Irving
- H.Cessford (Coach)
It was a tough struggle in the forwards. Mike Craft kicked a penalty, then that magic man, the obliging Randy Creswell, plunged over for a try. We were up 6 points to 0 at half time. With 20 minutes to play Melbourne University changed its tactics of running the ball, as they were getting nowhere in the face of tight defence from the Harlequins, and started to kick ahead. From a lucky bounce (aren’t they always against us!) they scored under the posts, and Geoff Vaughan converted off the post (yes - props used to kick for goal in those days) 6 points to 5. Could we hang on? Stan Shaw dropped on another kick ahead by University and on receipt of a few "slippers" for not getting off the ball, dislocated a collar bone. He played on as a one-armed breakaway whilst John Penwill moved to five eighth (no replacements under the laws at that time and Stan was not going to let down the team). Keith Jones had an outstanding game as half back playing the Welsh game of taking all the poor ball up himself with the consequent pain from the University forwards. however it was the Harlequins pack that carried the day time and time again with solid tackling and fierce aggression at the rucks and mauls. The team was, C.Clarke, M.Craft, M.Goodburn, M.Plumbridge, A.Knevitt, S.Shaw, K.Jones, D.Shepherd(Captain), J.Penwill, H.Devlin, R.Cresswell, J.Watson, D.Nicol, D.MacPherson, R.Irving - Coach, Harry Cessford.
Celebration in the Four Courts Hotel in William Street, Melbourne, our regular after match venue in those days, was momentous. All the "oldies", who current players never seemed to know, appeared out of the woodwork to lead in the Harlequin song, and that great clubman Malcolm McDonald sang two outstanding versions of "Sylvest" ( had 40.000 medals on his chest ) and "Viovioviola".
The second team and colts did not have great seasons but their time was to come in the next few years - nevertheless their support and ability to fill holes when injury occurred, provide opposition at training and great vocal support from the sideline, was a major contributor to the club's overall success during the year.
The final accolade awarded to The Harlequin Club for this season was an invitation from the V.R.U. to play the Rest of Victoria in an exhibition match. The match was played under lights, which was most unusual for those days and, although we were in front at half time, the hangover euphoria (call it what you like - but no hangover is painful after a grand final win - and the beer consumed at half time when coach Harry Cessford wasn't watching) was too much to contain. Victoria put Jimmy Douglas (just returned from New Zealand after having played wing in all three Tests against the All Blacks) in the clear to score a try and win on the whistle.
It had been a great season for the club with tons of enthusiasm to carry forward into the next season. There was great appreciation of the committee's unheralded hard work in the background to secure the tenure of our own ground at Glen Iris with a building known simply as "The Old Shed". Great days to come and even thoughts of more premierships!
The club was still mainly made up of "ex-pats" at this time, from what was somewhat euphemistically called the "Mother Country" i.e. Great Britain and Ireland, plus a sprinkling of Kiwis and Aussies, but this would all change (we hoped) with the expansion of junior sides, which would provide a strong player list for the future. This was the thought in 1957 with the original juniors programme and is still the plan today, but incoming players from various parts of the world would still provide the majority of senior players in Victorian rugby. The humour in the club was very much on British lines, and, when one of our number was leaving the country, this was the sort of party invitation which was organised, and the attendance was always of sell-out proportions! Players tended to call each other by their surnames (this was of course the norm in grammar and public schools in the UK, which most of the players attended) or a nickname. This had almost completely changed by the end of the decade.
In 1963 Rodney Stone was elected President. He turned out an influential figure and he was behind the move to Glen Iris in 1963 which was significant for a variety of reasons. We were playing where we trained, which meant we trained on a rugby pitch, not the lawn behind a rowing club. We did not share our training facilities as junior partners. The Mercantile Rowing Club had, however, been good to us, providing a training facility and venue for A.G.M.’s and the odd rower, who played rugby, but it was time to move on. The biggest benefit was the culture of singing and of being a Harlequin, which the shed provided for almost another 20 years. However, within 18 months of our move to Glen Iris Rodney Stone and others were working towards an even more radical proposal; to buy land and develop a rugby facility owned and administered by ourselves.
Rugby wise it was a good solid year but no trophies landed on the shelf for the first team. The first team lost 9 points to 8 to R.A.A.F in the preliminary final, and that was that. It had not helped our chances having David Shepherd in South Africa with the Wallabies but we knew where he would rather have been! Another sad event was the death of Harry Baldwin at the young age of 51. He had been first team captain before the war, Hon Secretary before and after the war and Treasurer as well as being an indefatigable worker and enthusiast for all things Harlequin. He had also been a State selector and club delegate to the V.R.U. Harry would be sorely missed.
However, having our own ground and the Shed, including hot showers, started a thorough bonding process (not in the showers), with all teams drinking together after both training and competition matches until the keg ran out. The singing was at times sensational although at times highly vulgar. It was something that set us apart from other clubs. Everyone had his own favourite and would stand swaying on a narrow bench - occasionally being challenged to "drink it down you Zulu Warrior". The Harlequin song was filled with emotion, and, with a couple of Welshmen around, even the harmonies were included!
Whether there was singing or not there was always a party after the match, and if there wasn't, then Rene and Harry Cessford would always oblige.
The best part on the “serious” playing field was the outstanding season enjoyed by the colts, who were Minor Premiers and Major Premiers. With a record of: played 20, won 18, drew 1, lost 1, they had achieved what any side would be proud of, and we certainly were. The colts team had been nurtured and coached by Ron Bolton and managed by Phil Dundee through under age competitions over the previous few years with a view to providing the club with home-grown Victorian talent in the future. They beat R.A.A.F, in a tight encounter, 6 points to nil, with all the points being scored by Peter Bolton. (a not unfamiliar event in club history). From that side the names of Bolton, Dundee, Bayley, Pettigrew, Chorazy, Collins, Barnes and Quinton all appeared on senior team sheets in the years that followed representing a move away from the ex-pat push that had served the club so well in its formative years. Despite such success in the early 60’s we have long struggled to successfully bridge the gap between junior and senior rugby.
Perhaps the greatest individual triumph in 1963 was the selection of our captain David Shepherd to tour very successfully with the Wallabies to South Africa and the following year, whilst still playing with us in Melbourne, he was capped for his first Test against the All Blacks (the Wallabies won handsomely). David played for the Harlequins from 1955 to 1964 and played in 5 international matches for Australia.
Glen Iris Park was host to a rare and, for the Melbourne Harlequins, an unhappy occasion. The Hobart Harlequins were back in Melbourne in September to try to win the jersey after 20 unsuccessful years. Much to our dismay, and on our first real home ground, Hobart won convincingly 11 points to 5. Our only consolation was the great singing and drinking, which followed the upset. Hobart Harlequins had earned the right to play in their grand final the week before and had taken the opportunity of the week’s rest to play us. They certainly returned to Hobart full of confidence for their match against University.
It was around this time the for-runner of the current Friday Lunch Club was born. Victoria still “enjoyed” anachronistic licensing laws with 6.00pm closing in public houses and the inevitable 6 o’clock swill! The only way around this was to be at a club and to have a meal, so a group of thirsty Harlequins used to meet regularly at the Amateur Sports Club in McKillop Street on a Friday evening to legally extend their drinking hours. This ad-hoc group included Tony James, Chris Yeomans, Don McPherson, Morrie Ellis, Chris Withers and David Ridsdale, who found the Friday evenings so enjoyable that they thought it would be a good idea to include the occasional lunch. With the introduction of more civilised licensing laws in 1966 the Friday evening dinners lapsed and the lunches became the preferred means of social intercourse, and so it continued for some 10 years or more.
In 1964, for the first time in our history a Ladies Committee was formed. June Baldwin was the Chairman (as so recorded in the Annual report!) and started the long tradition of having a hardworking and competent group of women to support the club. Over many years they catered, entertained and made financial contributions without which the club’s occasional parlous financial positions would have been much worse.
On the playing field the first team had a solid season finishing fourth and beating Army 9 points to 8 in the semi-final before going down to University 9 points to nil in the preliminary final. University went on to beat Melbourne 12 points to 11 in the Grand Final. University were the dominant team in the early to mid sixties and are still whingeing about our win in 1962!
Hal Golightly’s third team, playing in the Fourth Grade competition, achieved a first for Harlequins third team. They not only managed a season without any forfeits (an unfortunate but regular occurrence in earlier years as we battled to maintain a third team) but also made the grand final to lose to our old nemesis Melbourne
The major playing event in 1964 was the win for the second team in the grand final. The captain on the day, Reg Wilkinson, had captained the first team when they won the club's first First Grade Premiership in 1955. Mike Goodburn, the regular captain all year, succumbed to injury in the preliminary final allowing Reg to pass into Harlequin immortality. Their win was well deserved. They were Minor Premiers but had lost to second placed Box Hill 17 points to 6 in the second semi-final. A narrow 9 points to 6 win against Melbourne in the preliminary final led to a grand final against Box Hill. With a team studded with Harlequin identities such as Reg Wilkinson, Peter Bolton, Mike Dundee, Bob Coombs, Tony Slocock, Don Moore, Mike Plumbridge and Keith Jones it was expected that they would win, and they duly did 8 points to 3. The 1964 Annual Report said it all.
One of the most important steps taken by the club in the sixties, which was to have far reaching effects into the 21st century, was the members’ decision, driven by Rodney Stone, President in 1963-64 to buy our own ground near Dandenong. In October 1964 an executive sub-committee was formed to look into purchasing our own ground, and from this moment a Harlequin Park somewhere was a certainty. Almost immediately a suitable piece of land, some 8 acres or two pitches worth, was found at Lyndhurst, near Dandenong – price $7,000.00, and on 25th January 1965 the club, at an Extraordinary General Meeting, approved the purchase of the land for $6,800.00. At once a huge fund-raising effort under the control and direction of Rodney Stone was undertaken, and to our delight and amazement, sufficient funds flowed in from present and past members to meet our banker’s requirements and the ground was ours. Now this land was scrubby unimproved bush in Glasscocks Lane off the Frankston Dandenong Road and looked nothing like a rugby club and ground. Later in 1966 a most remarkable transformation took place. A friend of Rodney’s (as far as this ground was concerned they were unending) had an ex-government building for sale-cost $20.00. We bought it, cut it in half, moved it and reassembled it as our first owned clubhouse. In summary, bought it for $20.00, moved it for $2,200.00, valued it for $8,000.00. Remarkable. During the years 1966,67 and 68 we used volunteers to create the pitch and surroundings, and progress was steady. However, by early 1968 it was clear that volunteer labour and gifted materials were not sufficient to have the facilities we wanted by the 1968 season. It was time for another Extraordinary General Meeting, and again the money was granted and acquired so that by the start of the 1969 season we had an expertly furnished pavilion, a ground laid out by craftsmen and equipment equal to the best. Harlequin Park was officially opened on Saturday 12th April 1969 by Griff Hunt, O.B.E. & T.D., President of the V.R.U. Our President Tony James, formally named the pavilion the R.I.Stone Pavilion. And we played first and second team matches against Navy. As the editor wrote in the special programme for the event:
And the moral of it all; so long as this club sets its heart to do something, and
As later chapters will show Harlequin Park never achieved the popularity of Glen Iris with its greatly inferior facilities, but it showed what we could achieve. In addition the sale of Harlequin Park in 1978 provided the cornerstone funding for the construction of our magnificent clubhouse at Ashwood.
Harry Cessford succeeded Rodney Stone in 1965 as President with Mike Plumbridge and Harold Golightly remaining as Hon. Secretary and Treasurer. David Shepherd was transferred by his employer to Sydney (where he joined the Gordon Club) and replaced as first team captain by Alan Soutar, a tough and technically sound prop. Our strength in those days was primarily in the forwards, and the loss of David Shepherd was keenly felt on and off the pitch. Our first and second teams made the final four but both made quick exits, which left our third team, which played in the Fourth Grade competition!
They, (the Cavaliers) were again captained by Harold Golightly, who was also the sole selector, and, in good British tradition, you were not chosen to play in "his" side, you were invited. Harold was a man who aroused strong feelings, both positive and negative, amongst those who knew him or came up against him. He was, from today’s perspective, a typical colonial Englishman. Harold was Treasurer from 1964 to 1968 and contributed to the administrative as well as the playing side of the club. Although he returned to England at the end of the decade he made an impression on the club that is remembered to this day. The club had made a reciprocal impression on him and he remembered the Harlequins in his will when he died more than thirty years later. However, in 1965 a cigarette at half time was the norm for this team. Despite this approach, or maybe because of it, they made the grand final from fourth place on the ladder and a great field goal by Ian Lochrie, who was still playing in the veterans some 30 years later along with another member of the team Bruce Townsend, sealed the win. Also playing for the Cavaliers at inside centre was a certain Frank Tyson who, some 10 years earlier, had taken six wickets for 14 runs on the last day of the third test at the MCG to secure victory for England. Coarse rugby at its very best.
Fortunately for the first and second team players there was a Jersey Match to be played and we were very keen to regain the jersey we had lost in 1963. Hobart, as holders, were reasonably confident. We had had an average season and the match was to be played in Hobart. An added incentive to shine was the ABC television broadcast of the match in Tasmania. Their hopes were unfounded as we won comfortably 19 points to 11, and Alan Soutar was able to bring the jersey back to Melbourne where, in our opinion, it belonged. Finally, Peter Bolton was the V.R.U. player of the year, a well-deserved honour for a 19 year old.
Stan Shaw retired as a player in 1965 and took over as first team coach in 1966 and continued Harry Cessford’s development of modern training and coaching methods. The season was quite disappointing. Only the first team reaching the four and was knocked out in the semi-final. The Box Hill Club, in their first season in the V.R.U. competition, managed to finish above us. We were knocked out in the semi-final. For the first time in our history we were able to field a fourth team, which meant the days of our third team being able to win the Fourth Grade Premiership, were over. Harold Golightly had timed his run to perfection! The second, third and fourth teams finished 7th, 7th and 10th respectively and the colts could manage only 6th after their heroics in previous seasons.
Ken Austin coached the U 12’s who were the only team to win a flag in 1966. Another first for the club was its tour to N.S.W. to play Cootamundra on 24th September. We took a very good team with David Shepherd coming down from Sydney for a guest appearance and almost all our first team available for selection. In the Cootamundra team was Rex Harris, former Randwick player, who was to join Harlequins when he moved to Melbourne in 1968, and have a fine playing career with us and Victoria. The social side of the tour was up to the highest Harlequin standards. Who would ever forget Don Moore’s swallow dive from the 10 metre board in his Y-Fronts at the Cootamundra Olympic Pool? The result was a narrow loss for us, but our arrival in Cootamundra was quite an event with numerous articles in the press about this class team from Melbourne. Coach Stan Shaw was even interviewed by the local radio station. Fortunately none of their reporters caught up with our more spectacular social activities or perhaps they did and did not want to admit it! The final disappointment of the season for the club was the Jersey Match one week later. Hobart came as champions of Tasmania with an unbeaten record, having scored a record 700 plus points during the season. Against us they matched their reputation and won an open and entertaining match 36 points to 8 at Olympic Park. The Jersey continued its travels between Melbourne and Hobart. Meanwhile on the other side of the globe our cousins, the London Harlequins, were celebrating their centenary season. Very much an establishment club in London they were invited by the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor of London to hold their centenary dinner at the Mansion House. Speeches were made by such luminaries as: The Lord Wakefield of Kendall; the President of the R.F.U.; The Right Hon. the Lord Mayor; The Right Hon Edward Heath (the then leader of the opposition and later Prime Minister of Great Britain). They also won the Middlesex Sevens for a record seventh time. There were still no leagues and divisions in London rugby so the sevens remained their only competition win for the season. Our silver jubilee to come some 12 years later was not celebrated in quite the same way!
Tony James was elected President for 1967 and we knew we were in for an interesting ride. His Hon. Secretary and Treasurer were unchanged in Mike Plumbridge and Harold Golightly, so we had the reactionary/eccentric dream team at the helm. Harold Golightly’s third team, having won the Fourth Grade Premiership, had been promoted to third grade and Owain Jones was given the task of inaugurating our first ever fourth team. This he did, and to avoid confusion with Golightly’s Cavaliers, his team were nick-named the Roundheads. Stan Shaw in his second year as first team coach had his life made easier with the arrival of Brian Snowden as club fitness adviser. It was also an important step forward for the club. Brian had been a Physical Training Instructor in the British Army and led (by example) the fitness sessions held at the start of every training night. Thanks to Brian Harlequin first teams never suffered from a lack of physical preparation. He became a Harlequin character introducing certain traditions to end of season tours, that have contributed to Harlequin legend (and secrecy).
Despite having a talented and well-conditioned group of players and reaching the half-way point of the season well placed, the first team lost a string of games later in the season to finish a disappointing 5th. This gave added incentive to the end of season touring matches. The first match brought Gordon down from Sydney. They had lost the N.S.W. championship to Randwick the week before and, led by our former champion David Shepherd, had brought down an almost full-strength team. The general feeling around the club was that Gordon would win the rugby and Harlequins would win the drinking! Contrary to that expectation precisely the opposite occurred. Harlequins with two guest players, Ken Hughes of Kiwis and Gordon Black of Power House, won the game convincingly 19 points to 3, including four back-line tries. The Gordon team included four Wallabies, but our impressive forward play, expertly controlled by Alan Soutar, ensured the talented Gordon side was given no opportunity to display their skills. This was the first of a series of matches played against the Gordon Club in Melbourne and Sydney and it was the one and only time we have won. During the after-match celebrations Gordon were, however, able to dominate the drinking. The party was held at 18 Mildred Street, St Kilda, the ground floor of which was occupied by Eric Grant, Bob Coombes, Ted Johnson, Owain Jones and Geoff Shaw. It was a large house and became a favourite venue for club parties. The following year the official reception for the touring Irish Rugby Team was also held there with more than 150 players, officials, hangers-on and Harlequins in attendance. Alas I8 Mitford Street is no longer a “Gentlemen’s” residence, but now the site of trhe local Community Health Centre!
Flushed with such unexpected success against the Gordon Club it was off to Canberra the following weekend to play a composite ACT team on Saturday at the Canberra Showgrounds. It was a pity we had not been able to play with such precision during the V.R.U. season, as we were able to win 16 points to 3 in an entertaining game in which we scored four good tries. On the Sunday we played Yass on our way back to Melbourne and won 8 points to 3. We certainly rued the poor patch we went through during the second half of the Melbourne season.
With an unchanged President, Hon. Secretary and Treasurer and with the memory of our strong finish to the 1967 season we were confident of greater things in 1968. Alan Soutar was captain, and Geoff Missen from the Gordon Club replaced Stan Shaw as coach, who returned to England on business for most of the season. For perhaps the first time in our history we had a very talented back line. From Sydney University we had Warren Lewis at half-back, Tommy Towers, a 50 game veteran with Randwick at five-eighth, Rex Harris in the centres also ex Randwick and Garry Dawkins a very slippery player from Sydney. On one wing was Gerry Kirwan, described by Evan Whitton in the Argus as the “University College, Dublin Flyer”, and a new full back from New Zealand, John Vessey. Not an Englishman in site and all the better for that! Our performance in the V.R.U. seven-a-side competition provided a good pointer for the first grade premiership with Power House edging us out in the final 6 points to 5. The first team played to their potential and finished second just one point behind the Minor Premiers Power House. In the first semi-final we convincingly beat them 17 points to 11 to move straight into the grand final. Alas the grand final against Power House was not what we had wanted. In its Annual Report the V.R.U. wrote.
The other senior teams had disappointing seasons and did not match the quality of the first team in any way. Peter Bolton, Russel Bate, Garry Dawkins, Gerry Kirwan and Tommy Towers played for the Victorian team captained by Rex Harris.
Harold Golightly had returned to England and was replaced as Treasurer by John Ferguson for the 1969 season, while the club got used to having a new headquarters at Harlequin Park at Lyndhurst near Dandenong. There was great enthusiasm amongst members and grudging respect from other clubs, that we owned, maintained and ran our own playing facility. Geoff Missen was coach again with Stan Shaw, who had returned from England, on the coaching panel. The first team was the only senior team to make the finals, but lost in the semi-final to eventual Premiers Melbourne by 12 points to 11. It was a good performance by Melbourne who had finished in fourth position with a poorer percentage than Box Hill who had finished below them in fifth position. It was to be Melbourne’s last premiership for some 20 years, and guess whom they were to beat!!
The highlights of the 1969 season were the last two matches of the season in October against Gordon from Sydney and Suburbs from Auckland. We lost both matches by 6 points to 9 and 11 points to 18 respectively with the match against Suburbs widely regarded as one of the best played in Melbourne that year. Both matches were played at Harlequin Park and the Ladies Committee ensured that our first visitors from outside Victoria were royally entertained. We reverted to form against Gordon by losing the rugby match closely and winning the drinking matches by huge margins.
As our first and second teams played at Harlequin Park fortnightly and all training was still conducted at Glen Iris Park, Melbourne remained the centre of our universe. Cricket was still played in an ad-hoc fashion while the V.R.U. squash competition was keenly fought out by teams from Melbourne, University, Power House and the Referees Association as well as Harlequins. We even managed to win our annual soccer match against Melbourne for the first time.
The sixties had been a decade of great social change and some of that had rubbed off on the Harlequins. On the rugby pitch there had been changes to the laws with the value of a drop-goal reduced from four points to three, the value of a try increased from three points to four and the knock-on rule made easier (if the ball was caught after being knocked forward without touching the ground it was no longer a knock-on). Some of our traditional members thought the new knock-on law a lessening of standards while Reg Wilkinson, who thought place kicks should not be taken using the “soccer” kick, bemoaned the lessening in value of a drop-goal. We had expanded from two senior teams in 1960 (firsts and second) to five, including colts, plus several junior teams. The British (English) influence on the playing field had been diluted although the administration was still firmly in the hands of ex-pat Brits. The achievements of David Shepherd as a Harlequin and a Wallaby were of huge personal significance to David and his family and a source of much pride to Harlequins but they did not have any real impact on the development of the club. The move to, and use of, Glen Iris Park and Harlequin Park were major events. The old shed at Glen Iris with the drinking and singing made a lasting cultural mark on the club which is still felt today. Harlequin Park was a testament to the determination of the Harlequins to be independent and different to all other clubs. Perhaps this came from the British influence where most clubs owned their own facilities and were not beholden to local councils. This manifested itself first in our “city rooms” in Renmartin Place in the fifties, although short-lived. Even at Glen Iris, a council ground, we had developed the facilities – such as they were – with Don Moore carrying out the wiring of the floodlights we installed for training and improving the basic (very) showers and changing rooms. Our achievements at Harlequin Park almost 50 kms from Melbourne were of another order. To find and develop the land, erect and equip a first class clubhouse and manage it all without any outside assistance showed we were, as a sporting club, quite different. This tended to reinforce the prevailing sentiment amongst other clubs that we thought we were, perhaps, rather superior to them. One thing was certain, our striving to be very much our own club and to do things our way was not to change in the coming years.