Harold Hampton Hardwick (14 December 1888 – 22 February 1959) was a versatile Australian sports star of the early 20th century – an Olympic gold medal swimmer, national heavyweight boxing champion, and a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

representative

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. He later became a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the Australian Imperial Force. Hardwick was on the winning team of the 4x200-metre freestyle relay at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

and won bronze medals in the 400-metre and 1500-metre freestyle.

Early life

Born in Balmain,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, to George Henry Hardwick and his wife Priscilla, Harold began swimming at an early age, and at 11 was winning races. At the age of 16, while attending

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Mixed-sex school, co-educational Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective secondary school, secondary day school, located in Petersh ...

, he became the Public Schools' swimming champion of Sydney. He played rugby in the school's first XV and captained its lifesaving team.

Swimming career

In 1907, embracing the newly popular

Australian crawl Australian Crawl (often called Aussie Crawl or The Crawl by fans) were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano/harmonica), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams (bass), Simon Binks (lead guitar) and David R ...

stroke Hardwick won the New South Wales 100-yard championships in 61.6 seconds. In 1909, he came second at the

Australasian Championships The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...

in the 100-yard and 880-yard events, behind Cecil Healy and

Frank Beaurepaire Sir Francis Joseph Edmund Beaurepaire (13 May 1891 – 29 May 1956) was an Australian distance freestyle swimmer from the 1900s to the 1920s, who won three silver and three bronze medals, from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London to the ...

respectively. In 1911, Hardwick won the 220-yard, 440-yard and 880-yard freestyle at the Australasian Championships. At the 1911

Festival of Empire The 1911 Festival of Empire was the biggest single event held at The Crystal Palace in London since its opening. It opened on 12 May and was one of the events to celebrate the coronation of King George V. The original intention had been that Edw ...

Games in London, a precursor of the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

to commemorate the coronation of

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

, Hardwick won both the 110yd freestyle and heavyweight boxing title. He remained in England for the English Swimming Championships, winning the 100-yard, 220-yard and 440-yard freestyle titles. In 1912, he was selected to represent the

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

combined team of Australians and New Zealanders at the

, but could not compete in boxing, as it was omitted for the only time in Olympic history. Hardwick was eliminated in the 100-metre freestyle semifinals. In the 400-metre freestyle, he won his heat and semifinal, and held the lead in the final for a period before being defeated by Canada's

George Hodgson George Ritchie Hodgson (October 12, 1893 – May 1, 1983) was a Canadian competition swimmer of the early 20th century, and considered by many to be the greatest swimmer in Canadian history. Hodgson won the two longer freestyle swimming gold ...

the United Kingdom's

Jack Hatfield John Gatenby Hatfield (15 August 1893 – 30 March 1965) was an English competitive swimmer and water polo player who represented Great Britain internationally. Hatfield won three medals at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, and com ...

, earning a bronze medal. In the 1500-metre, Hardwick also won his heat and semifinal, and again contested the lead in the final, before being worn down by Hodgson and Hatfield. He then combined with Healy,

Leslie Boardman Leslie Boardman (2 August 1889 – 23 November 1975) was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1910s. As a member of the Australasia combined team of Australia and New Zealand athletes, Boardman won a gold medal in the 4×200-metre freestyle ...

and Malcolm Champion to win the 4x200-metre freestyle relay, splitting 2m 31.2s for the fastest leg of the quartet.

Rugby & boxing

After returning to Australia, Hardwick stopped swimming at international level, and diversified his interests, joining the

Manly Surf Club The Manly Life Saving Club is one of Australia's oldest Surf Life Saving Clubs, founded in 1911; located in the Sydney suburb of , in the Northern Beaches Council in New South Wales. History The club was founded in 1911 to patrol Manly Beach af ...

, in which he participated in winning State Championships. He played first grade

for Sydney's

Eastern Suburbs RUFC The Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union Football Club is a team in the Intrust Super Shute Shield, the premier club rugby union football competition in New South Wales. The club is based in Rose Bay in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, and was founded ...

, winning a premiership with the club in 1913. In 1910 he had been selected for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to represent against a visiting American universities team. In 1914 he won New South Wales' State amateur heavyweight boxing championship and in 1915, he turned professional in boxing signing to appear for the promoter

Snowy Baker Reginald Leslie "Snowy" Baker (8 February 18842 December 1953) was an Australian athlete, sports promoter, and actor. Born in Surry Hills, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Baker excelled at a number of sports, winning New Sout ...

. That year he promptly claimed the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. In his final professional bout in 1916 he was knocked out by

Les Darcy James Leslie Darcy (28 October 189524 May 1917) was an Australian boxer. He was a middleweight, but held the Australian Heavyweight Championship title at the same time. Les Darcy was the 2003 Inductee for the Australian National Boxing Hall o ...

. Earlier in that bout Hardwick broke both of Darcy's front teeth, and the hurried dental correction done after the fight (re-pinning the teeth on gold posts) ultimately resulted in complications and an infection that caused Darcy's death in 1917.

Military service and later life

He joined the Australian Imperial Force in August 1917 and served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with the No.2 Signal Squadron as a sapper in the Middle East. He was discharged in October 1918 at the war's end. He maintained a commission in the militia from 1921 and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as lieutenant-colonel he commanded the 1st Cavalry Divisional Signals from 1940 to 1942, rising to the rank of colonel. After the war he worked for the New South Wales Education Department, helping to establish the structure of physical education and swimming programs in schools. He died of a coronary occlusion on 22 February 1959.

References

External links