Harold John Neill

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Harold was born on Monday, 11 February 1907 at the Melbourne suburb of Newport.^2,3 He was the son of William Neill and Frances Jordan.¹ His common name was Harry.

Harry's football career began in 1923 when he played a single game in the forward pocket for Williamstown in the VFA.⁴He played a five games with them in the following year, finishing the season in Round 14.⁴ Harold John Neill was described as 185cm tall and weighing 86kg⁵He played his first VFL game in Round 4 on Saturday, 23 May 1925 for South Melbourne with number 33, and played one more week with them. However, he quickly moved to Footscray in the same year, playing three games with them and scoring one goal in Round 9 (his first with the), no doubt an exciting achievement for him. Still, Footscray finished just one slot away from the bottom of the ladder.⁶In 1926 he was more productive, playing a total of ten games for Footscray and scoring two goals. However, the team's performance was not good; seven of these games were losses and the team finished just one slot higher on the ladder.⁵The following year he played a further four games with Footscray, but three of those were losses and team seemed stuck in the doldrums. However, he changed to St. Kilda by Round 8 and gave them four goals in six games with jumper 28, a number he kept for the rest of his career. St. Kilda finished seventh in the rankings. Harry's fortunes were on the improve.⁵

1928 was a quiet year for him, playing just three gaols but scoring a respectable two majors in that time.⁵The following two years might be thought of as the highpoint of his career. Aged at an unknown age , he helped St. Kilda finish fourth overall and Harry kicked a respectable 14 goals, including two in the semifinal, making him the equal sixth performer in the year.⁵He was even stronger in 1930, scoring 12 goals in fourteen games. However, the team wasn't doing as well, dropping to eighth place on the final ladder.^5,7

His final three years were anti-climactic. St. Kilda sunk to ninth on the ladder in 1931 and stayed at a similar level for the next two years. Harry's personal productivity never again reached the heights of previous years; his final year with the Saints saw him only score 6 majors in almost a full season. However, he had the honour of taking home the team's Best and Fairest in 1931.^5,8In the final analysis, he played 103 games for a respectable goal tally of 61 and played in the position of follower.^8,9

He married Violet Agnette Oaten, daughter of Albert Edward Oaten and Violet Barbara Cheyne, at St. John's Church of England on Saturday, 20 January 1940 at the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell. He was 32 and his wife Violet was 29. The marriage was featured on the 'Weddings and Engagements' page of The Age and included a photo.. Others attending the wedding included Charles Henry Oaten as giver of the bride; others who may have been there include Violet Barbara Cheyne as mother of the bride, Frances Jordan as mother of the groom and William Neill as father of the groom. Aunts, uncles and grandparents who may have attended include Lydia Amelia Oaten, Charles Henry Oaten, Henry William Oaten, Margaret Mary Oaten, Alice Eleanor Mary Oaten, Winifred Amelia Oaten, Lily Hawthorne Cheyne and Daisy Agnnete Cheyne. Harold and Violet went on to have two children together.^10,11

Harold died on 24 November 1966 at Victoria at age 59.^12,13,1 His body was interred at Williamstown cemetery at the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown.¹⁴