Harry Wickham
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 September 1882 Solomon Islands |
| Died | 15 April 1962 (aged 79) Solomon Islands |
| Education | Newington College |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
Harry Wickham (10 September 1882 – 14 October 1962)[1] was a Solomon Islander swimmer who with his half-brother Alick Wickham is acknowledged as being an early exponent of the crawl swimming stroke in Australia before its introduction to competitive swimming.[2]
Biography
[edit]Wickham was born on the island of Hobopeka in the New Georgia region of the Solomon Islands. He was the son of Frank Wickham, an English plantation owner, and Ameriga a Melanesian woman from Buin, Papua New Guinea. He was jointly raised by his parents and the local ceremonial and war leader Chief Hingava.[3] His only known formal European style education was at Newington College in Sydney from 1899 until 1900.[4] A few years later Wickham was joined in Sydney by his younger half-brother Alick Wickham who gained attention with his swimming stroke in an under-10s race at Bronte Beach. Following Wickham’s return to the Solomons, he managed a copra plantation at Hobopeka in the Roviana Lagoon, and worked as an accountant for Burns Philp. He served as a lieutenant during the Japanese occupation of The Solomons during World War II.[5] He married six times and fathered several children. He died in the Solomons and is buried there.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ Wickham, Harry (1882 - 1962) Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ^ Australian Museum Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ^ The Roviana Chief Hingava Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ^ Newington College Register of Past Students 1863–1998 (Syd, 1999) pp 214
- ^ ANU Solomon Islanders in World War II Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ^ "They gave the world a new way of swimming", Pacific Islands Monthly, Pacific Publications, 1962
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