Born in Wimbledon, Harold emigrated to Biarra with his parents in 1910. He lived on the family property 'Morden', Toogoolawah, until he drew at ballot in 1912, a portion of 'Taabinga Station' in the Kumbia-Kingaroy district.
Still only a teenager, he had to work hard improving his land that he named 'Surrey Park' after Surrey, his home County in England. He lived there for the remainder of his life.
In the initial years Harold often had to seek other work to survive, for instance, in 1915 he worked at 'Taabinga Station' mostly as a gardener. He developed his hobby, photography, to a high standard of professionalism and became a freelance contributor to various magazines and pictorial papers in Australia and overseas. His specialisation was animal studies and landscapes that found ready acceptance by editors. He spent much of his time following the Agricultural Show circuit, contributing to livestock journals. He was considered to be one of the top rural photographers in the state.
In his later years, on the suggestion of Mr Arthur Angove, the Kingaroy Shire Council Clerk, he worked on the compilation of an historical book titled 'The First Hundred Years - The Story of Early Kingaroy'. When Harold died, this history was almost completed. He had approved a final plan for the book with the material that he had gathered over the years, and his executors agreed that his wish would be posthumously fulfilled. He financed the publication of this history through the Kingaroy Shire Council, and its completion in 1978 is considered a memorial to him. His indexed negatives covering a lifetime of photography, are now held in the Oxley Library, Brisbane. |