Harold Smyrk

Harold Nelson Smyrk (16 September 1889 – 10 November 1956) was an Australian diving champion who represented Great Britain at the 1908 Olympic Games in London.[1]

History

Smyrk was born in Melbourne, where his father Herbert Moesbury Smyrk (1862 – 3 June 1947) was a stained-glass artist, a partner with one Charles Rogers as Smyrk & Rogers. The partnership dissolved in September 1888,[2] and the family left for Adelaide to work for painter and decorator E. F. Troy (c. 1855–1910) of Gawler Place and Flinders Street. He would later, as "Herbert Moesbury", achieve a little fame as a writer, Beardsley-esque illustrator and traveller with a special fondness for Tahiti.[3] For four or five years they lived in the seaside suburb of Glenelg, which boasted a large marine swimming pool. His father was a good swimmer, and Harold an apt pupil, and soon became quite proficient, but diving and particularly the high dive was where he excelled.[4]

The family left for London around March 1898, to the regret of members of the Adelaide Easel Club, of which his father had been an active member.[5] but a year later his imminent return to Australia was reported,[6] his father having apparently not enjoyed the acceptance he had been hoping for. His mother, Laura Elizabeth Smyrk, died in 1902.[7]

They didn't return to Adelaide but Sydney, and Smyrk joined the South Sydney Swimming Club, winning numerous diving championships.[8][9][10] and in 1903 moved to England, residing at Kingston-on-Thames, and Smyrk joined the Cygnus Swimming Club.[11] In 1905 he won a silver cup presented by Sir Claude de Crespigny.[12]

Smyrk, who was several times remarked on for his diminutive size,[13] represented Great Britain in diving at the 1906 Olympiad at Athens, and the 1908 Olympic Games in London, but failed to reach the finals.

Smyrk returned to Australia, and by 1915 was a resident of Glenelg, where he started a diving club in 1918.[14] While in Adelaide he was active in swimming organizations, and was a competitive golfer.[15]

Smyrk married Ivy Powell of St Peters, South Australia on 31 December 1916; they lived in Adelaide until around 1930 and divorced in Sydney in 1933.[16]

In 1951 he had a cottage on The Esplanade, Warringah, Sydney.[17]

References
  1. "Harold Smyrk". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  2. "Advertising". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 21 September 1888. p. 5. Retrieved 6 January 2020 – via Trove.
  3. "Man of Many Parts". The News (Adelaide). South Australia. 3 November 1925. p. 8. Retrieved 7 January 2020 – via Trove.
  4. "Personal". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 17 June 1908. p. 6. Retrieved 6 January 2020 – via Trove.
  5. "Adelaide Easel Club". The Evening Journal (Adelaide). South Australia. 22 February 1898. p. 3. Retrieved 6 January 2020 – via Trove.
  6. "Art Notes". South Australian Register. South Australia. 8 March 1899. p. 7. Retrieved 6 January 2020 – via Trove.
  7. "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 8 October 1902. p. 1. Retrieved 10 January 2020 – via Trove.
  8. "Saturday's Swimming". The Evening News (Sydney). New South Wales, Australia. 17 December 1900. p. 3. Retrieved 10 January 2020 – via Trove.
  9. "Swimming". The Evening News (Sydney). New South Wales, Australia. 9 December 1901. p. 3. Retrieved 10 January 2020 – via Trove.
  10. "Swimming". The Australian Star. New South Wales, Australia. 8 December 1902. p. 6. Retrieved 10 January 2020 – via Trove.
  11. "English Swimming Notes". The Chronicle (Adelaide). South Australia. 12 September 1903. p. 21. Retrieved 10 January 2020 – via Trove.
  12. "An Australian in England". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). New South Wales, Australia. 4 February 1905. p. 14. Retrieved 10 January 2020 – via Trove.
  13. "Swimming". The Referee. New South Wales, Australia. 17 June 1908. p. 6. Retrieved 10 January 2020 – via Trove.
  14. "Swimming". The Journal (Adelaide). South Australia. 6 December 1918. p. 1. Retrieved 10 January 2020 – via Trove.
  15. "On Other Links". The Mail (Adelaide). South Australia. 27 July 1929. p. 11. Retrieved 10 January 2020 – via Trove.
  16. "In Divorce". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 29 November 1933. p. 9. Retrieved 6 January 2020 – via Trove.
  17. "Metropolitan Water Sewerage & Drainage Board". Construction (Sydney newspaper). New South Wales, Australia. 24 January 1951. p. 17. Retrieved 6 January 2020 – via Trove.
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