Harry 'Mick' Kadwell: From Dally M to the NRL

Sean Fagan of RL1908.com

Harry 'Mick' Kadwell was 5 years old when rugby league started in Australia. As a youngster he watched Dally Messenger play and saw the blossoming of the game in Sydney. Kadwell played for the Kangaroos in 1929-30 and continued his interest in the game throughout his life.

Harry Kadwell took up rugby league as a youth. He eventually played for South Sydney (1927-30: 40 games) before moving to St. George (1931-34: 46 games) as captain-coach. He represented NSW 12 times between 1929 and 1934, gaining selection on the 1929-30 Kangaroo Tour. He remained keenly involved with rugby league throughout his life and was a regular at Wests games until his latter years.

Harry "Mick" Kadwell passed away in late 1999.

In the early stages of the development of RL1908.com I had the privilege of interviewing Harry "Mick" Kadwell. I met a number of times between February and August in 1999 and what follows is the composite of those interviews.

You may recall "Mick" appearing on Channel 9's Footy Show around that time - where they honored him as the oldest living Kangaroo (Tourist).

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"I'm still an avid fan of rugby league and follow the NRL competition on a weekly basis - although I've not been able to attend a game for a few seasons now. I used to get down to the Wests games a lot - Keith Holman and others down there at Wests always take the time to look after us fellows. Being 96 years old my memory is not as sharp as it once was - but I still get about and I'm always keen to talk about the great rugby league days of the past.

One of my earliest memories is of seeing "Dally" Messenger play. He was playing with Eastern Suburbs - it would almost have been at the end of his career. I was about 8 or 10 I suppose. He was the real Master, he could do anything. Many since have been called a "master" of the game - but Messenger will always be The Master.

I was the oldest of 10 children and grew up at 230 Crown Street, Surry Hills. My mother was marvellous - bringing us all up on her own. Family meant everything in those days and they always came first with me. I left school early and began working to help provide for the other nine children. I remember working at a Chinese market garden and also selling newspapers in the city.

My first grade rugby league career began with the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 1927 - we won the Final that season defeating St George. I played fullback and kicked a few goals.

I started with Souths when I was 22 in the mid-1920s. I was playing in third grade and did so for about three seasons.

In mid-1927 I'd had enough of just playing lower grades and was going to give the game away.

Not long after, I was caught by the Souths club secretary at Randwick races - I should have been at training! I told him I was giving the game away because I wasn't being selected to move up into 1st grade. He told me to wake up to myself and get back to training. So I did. I played 3 more games in thirds and then about 4 in seconds.

Then a player in firsts, Hickey I think, moved and played with Glebe. All of a sudden there I was - in first grade. I stayed there the rest of the 1927 season and we won the premiership. It was a good Souths team at that time - the club won seven titles in eight seasons from 1925. Players like Benny Wearing, Alf 'Smacker' Blair, Jack Why, George Treweek and Eddie Root - great talents to be playing with.

In 1928 I was playing five-eighth. We made the Final again and we played Easts. Joe 'Chimpy' Busch was in the Easts team and was Australia's Test halfback. We beat them easily in the end and I scored two tries. I became Souths' halfback in 1929 and I was selected for NSW early in the season. I was also fortunate that it was a Kangaroo Tour year and was chosen to go.

I played for NSW on and off over the years. I remember one game in Brisbane I couldn't get away from work with the team to travel up. So the NSWRL put me and Benny Wearing on a late plane. We had to get on this little beat up plane - it never really bothered me at the time, it was a quick way to get to anywhere so you did it.

Anyway, we caught this same plane back to Sydney, got off and watched the plane leave for Melbourne. No one ever saw the plane again! There were still six or eight people on board when it disappeared somewhere in between. They found it on a mountain in Victoria last year. So fate was smiling on us I suppose... but not for the other poor souls.

I almost didn't go on the Kangaroo Tour. Having to help support the family left me a bit worried about what would happen. My factory bosses said they couldn't keep my job open for the time I would be away. So I wasn't going - but my mother told me to go, she said it was the trip of a lifetime. There were brothers and sisters that could help out, and we didn't have much but my mother said they would make do, so I sort of agreed to go. But I was still concerned about work - and as it turned out the Depression was about to start.

I had a job in a factory in Surry Hills. My boss called me aside one day and said, look Mick we're gonna have to let you go, we can't keep your job open for six months. I sorta understood, but I was wondering what I'd do for money when I got back from the Tour. I sorta left it at that. But, it was a small local community, things got around, and before you knew it, the locals started to give it to my boss a bit.

He told me before I left that my job would wait until I got home. That made me feel a whole lot better about going. In those days rugby league players had a respected position in the local community - not much money, but a lot of respect. This saw my factory bosses abandon their plans to end my job! We left mid-season and Souths battled on without us.

The Kangaroos were led by Tom Gorman - a Queenslander. There were 17 from NSW and 11 from Queensland. We left Sydney on board the Canadian vessel 'Aorangi' from Walsh Bay. A crowd of 5000 turned out to wish us well - never seen anything like it! That night I played my banjo and we all partied into the night with a few tunes.

The ship sailed through to Auckland, Suva, Honolulu and on to North America. We went via train from Vancouver in Canada through to Niagra Falls and on to New York. In New York we were greeted by the Mayor on the steps of Town Hall.

Once there, someone had organised a surprise visit by a real kangaroo - I shaped up to box the kangaroo and the press took photographs.

From New York we travelled on the Aquitania to England. It was a famous ship and was the ultimate in luxury. To keep fit Arthur Hennessy had us jog around the decks, up and down the stairs, star jumps, push-ups and the like. They even had a gym on the old girl too!

It was six weeks from Sydney and we were unfit for league but once you got a few club games under your belt, you soon get back on top. Early on I had a little dig in a game against Bately. They were just playing it a bit rough, the other half was giving it to me, so I hit him back, but the refs there were a bit one-sided and I got sent off. Got suspended for two games!

When the tour left Australia I was the NSW half back, but I never got to play a Test. On the way over on board the ship, the Queenslanders used to revel all night. Anyway, one of the other NSW halfbacks on the Tour, Easts' Chimpy Busch, used to join in. He was well liked by the Queenslanders from the '28 Test team he was in - by the time we arrived in England he'd almost became one of them. I used to have a milk shake with some of the boys and have an early night.

Anyway in a club game, I was acting dummy half behind one of the Queenslanders, he deliberately stepped back off the ball and onto my leg, I suffered an injury and it forced me out for about four weeks missing the rest of the First Test lead-up. Chimpy then started at halfback in front of me and I never got the spot back all Tour. The Queenslander meant to do it, no doubt about it...mark my words.

Of course Chimpy went on to "score" the famous "no-try" at Leeds. I don't know for sure if he scored it or not. I was miles away, it was dark and I couldn't really see. The only problem with Chimpy was, when he was 100% wrong, he was always 100% right! No one will ever know.

The Kangaroos were coached by Arthur Hennessy, an original player in Souths 1908 team and a Kangaroo himself. Hennessy wasn't much of coach - actually he was a good talker and he had some good tactics but he had a lot of trouble relating it to the field. In fact our captain, a good bloke by the name of Tom Gorman, was the real coach. He knew exactly what to do and was a terrific captain. He was the first Queenslander to lead a Kangaroo tour.

Being selected as a Kangaroo and going on the Tour was marvelous. It was a tremendous time for me. When we came home the 1930 season had started. Souths made it to the semi-finals but we were beaten early on by Wests who went on to win the title. During the season I was married and we moved into the St. George area.

I didn't want to have to leave Souths so I had to beat the residential rule - I didn't tell them I moved from Surry Hills! I used to take my bike on the train and stop a couple stops from home. I'd ride my bike the rest of the way. That way, if they followed me, they would have a jolly time trying to catch me.

Of course they eventually got wind, so I signed-on with St. George as captain-coach for 1931. I stayed there until retiring after the 1934 season.

You know, I'll never forget the last time I ever saw my mother.

I got picked to play for NSW up in Queensland in 1931. I remember standing out the front with some of the other boys, I waved goodbye and she smiled back at me. Later, while we were in Queensland, I was on stage playing my banjo. The team manager tried to motion me off the stage, but I was having a bit of fun and stayed there. Eventually, he stepped up onto the stage and my heart stopped - I knew then something bad had happened. He told me quietly that my mother had died at home. Her heart had given out. That was one of the saddest days of my life.

We made the Final in 1933 while I was captain-coach at St. George. We played Newtown who were coached by Charles 'Boxer' Russell. We were level at halftime but they got away from us in the end. We made the semi-finals again in 1934 and I retired after we lost to Wests.

Everyone asks who were the tough men of the time, and who I most feared. Its hard though - and unfair - to single players out. They were all tough, but some tougher than others. I saw Herb Narvo from Newtown play, while I played against and with Bill Brogan (Wests) and Herb Steinohrt (Queensland) - they were pretty tough.

But there was one player, he used to scare the living daylights out of me, his name was Frank Burge. He used to play for Glebe and they called him "Chunky". He was a magnificent athlete, a really tough man. He used to say to me on the field: ‘ I'll kill you - you little bugger, if I catch you I'll ring your neck'. Oh, and he had this look about him, if he fixed you in his sight... look out. He never caught up with me though - I was too quick!

McRitchie accused Farrell, but the next day a doctor examined McRitchie's ear and found no teeth marks. There was an official enquiry by the League and since Farrell was a high ranking police officer, he would also face an internal police investigation.

Don't quote me until after I'm gone... but Bumper did it alright. I know because I was close enough and there were blokes that saw him do it. But he got off! Everyone knew, if he was found guilty, he would be thrown out of the game, and that would be a big blow for him and he could get the sack from the police.

So they hatched a plan, the players who saw what happened would water down what they saw, they even got McRitchie to pull back a bit on what he saw. They couldn't rig the whole thing, just enough to get him off.

McRitchie said that while his head was in the scrum, Farrell bit him severely on the ear. The League's doctor (Finn) told the enquiry there was a lot of blood and the ear was ugly looking, but he could not see evidence of teeth marks.

So when it was Bumper's turn to give evidence, he removed his dentures and claimed that he had no teeth and was unable to have bitten McRitchie. He had two and they were like fangs! The League then voted in favour of Farrell (15-12) and he got off.

The modern game is not anything like the game of rugby league we played - some things are better now, some aren't. It is much cleaner and faster, but having players running on and off the field - I can't stand that one!"

Harry Kadwell Interview: Sydney, NSW - var. 1999