Harry Hewitt


Harry Hewitt, sometimes spelled "Ewart", was an Indigenous Australian Australian rules footballer and cricketer.

Early life

Harry Hewitt was born in the south-east of South Australia and was taken to the Point McLeay Mission Station as a child. Around this time David Uniapon would have been born at the Point McLeay Mission.

Football

In 1885 Harry Hewitt captained an All-Indigenous team against a combined team of senior and junior association clubs at Adelaide Oval, that apart from a dubious umpire call regarding a rushed behind, the game resulted in a draw. On the 6 July 1885, Harry Hewitt captained the Point McLeay team against a side composed Prince Alfred and Whinham College players with the college team winning by 1 goal.

South Australian Football Association (1889–1892)

On the 22 June 1889 Hewitt made his senior debut for Medindie in the South Australian Football Association in a game against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval. The local Port Adelaide newspaper wrote a glowing appraisal of his play stating "The Medindies had their full strength; Hewit, an aboriginal, was a decided acquisition, and although he played barefooted was about the best man amongst them, his alacrity all through the game eliciting the applause of the spectators. He, too, appeared to have a thorough knowledge of the rules of the game, as he never had a mark given against him the whole of the afternoon." On the 13 July 1889 Harry Hewitt and Medindie organised to bring the Point McLeay football team to Kensington Oval to play Medindie with boomerang demonstrations during the breaks.
In June 1891, the South Australia Register highlighted Hewitt's game for Medindie in a win against Adelaide at Kensington Oval insisting that "A word of praise must be given to Harry Hewitt, the aboriginal. Only once during the game, when he got hold of the ball, was he caught and spoiled. His running especially deserves recording, and he ought to prove of great benefit to the Medindies". Another newspaper, the Adelaide Observer considered him a unanimous best afield for the match. Later that year in August, Hewitt played for against a travelling Fitzroy at Adelaide Oval. Port Adelaide would defeat Fitzroy by 2 goals.
In 1892 Harry Hewitt was selected in a representative side from the Southern half of South Australia to play a team representing the Northern half with players from 31 clubs across the state having players submitted. Hewitt's Southern side would win the match with the South Australian Chronicle praising the play of himself and fellow Point McLeay teammate Wilson stating that "A feature of the game was the introduction of four natives from the Point Mcleay station, and as far as two of them — J. Wilson and Harry Hewitt are concerned they played the game of the forty in the first half, and subsequently did splendid service for their side. Both are strongly-built men, play a gentlemanly game, and are most unselfish. Wilson in the ruck and Hewitt roving treated the spectators to some clever football, their agility in nonplussing their opponents and exceedingly smart passing on from one to another being unsurpassed, and the spectators time after time expressed their approval of the brilliancy of their work."

Cricket

In 1892, Hewitt had a batting average of 130 for Point McLeay in the local competition.
In 1895 whilst playing for a Northern Adelaide cricket team known as the Federal eleven against a side representing Prospect, Hewitt scored 144 not out.
In an 1897 edition of "Cricket Notes" in the Adelaide Evening Journal, when discussing local country cricketers in South Australia, he was described as being "The best batsman we met was the evergreen Harry Hewitt at Port Victor, whose batting, bowling, and fielding were worthy of his palmiest days".
In his last season of cricket for a club representing Victor Harbor, Hewitt averaged 70 runs for the season.

Advocate for the rights of Indigenous people

Hewitt wrote to and was published by the Adelaide Advertiser regarding a complaint about the treatment of Indigenous people. He was quoted as saying:
"Sir, As an aboriginal, may I say a few words about the fisherman's license? First, the white man took the land from us and killed our game, and now he expects us to pay £1 license before we can catch fish for the market. True, we can catch fish for our own use without a license, but what is the good of that? We have few opportunities for earning a livelihood, and now they are trying to stop us from earning a honest shilling. They are not getting rid of us fast enough, too they think they will starve us out. Perhaps, however, the Government have some means of keeping us in comfort, so that we won’t have to trouble about getting our living – I am."

Temperance

Harry Hewitt once addressed an audience in the Adelaide City Mission praising temperance. He would do the same fortnightly at the Point Macleay Mission urging locals to the claims of temperance and would organise men to play football games in Adelaide who were members of the Blue Ribbon Army.

Death

On the morning of 24 January 1907, Hewitt was found dead due an impact to the head which had crushed his skull. The only witness, Jennie Tripp, said that a quantity of wine had been consumed the previous evening before Hewitt and his friend Tommy Lawson began fighting. Hewitt had struck her when she tried to intervene, and she did not see the blow that killed him, but later found a length of wood which she believed was the weapon used. Lawson, who was drunk when arrested the following morning, and at the inquest was put on remand for his murder.
At the trial, which was for manslaughter, the jury accepted the argument that the stick produced could not have caused the fatal injury, and if he had struck the much stronger Hewitt, it was in self-defence, so returned a verdict of "not guilty".