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Australia

Harvey, Richard (1894-1983) Information (from Raymond Harvey (son))

Birth certificate: Commercial Hotel, Stevenson Street, Yuleba on 1st August, 1894
Born Commercial Hotel, Yuleba, Queensland.
Marriage certificate Stanthorpe, Queensland,

Wallumbilla is in Western Queensland near Roma.

Richard (Dick) Harvey, the youngest child of Jonathan Harvey and Emma Waldron, was born. In the Commercial Hotel, Stevenson Street, Yuleba on 1st August, 1894. He attended school at Yuleba and Wallumbilla but left school after Grade 3 to work with his father and brothers clearing land and fencing their properties used for grazing sheep, cattle and horses. Jonathan had several properties in the Wallumbilla, Pickanjinnie and in the Chadford areas, he moved his stock from one property to another as fodder or water was depleted.

In 1910 when Halley's Comet spanned half the horizon many people believed the end of the world was nigh. Dick said he remembered asking his father what was the good of doing all this fencing if the comet was going to destroy the world - Jonathan 's reply was that he thought they had better work on regardless because the comet did not appear to be heading for the Earth.

Jonathan controlled the money which appeared to be the custom at that time, handing out money to a family member when or if he considered it necessary. Jonathan also allotted tasks to the family; Dick (a teenager) rebelled and ran away from home. Dick worked on a property near Muggleton, earning a man's wage of 1.10.0 per week sinking dams and other general work. Dick worked there for approximately three months until his father finally came and took him home. The result was thatDick was given partial control of Jonathan’s property at Chadford.

Enlistment & War Record (& Telegram)
Dick joined 11 Light Horse Reserve Regiment (Volunteer) @ Roma, Queensland in August 1913, served 2.5 years before Joining AIF on the 30 Nov 1915 (travelling on an enlistment train to Toowoomba to enlist) Army No. 5422 (Discharged M.U., on the3 Sept 1918, with 149.8.1d)
Enlisted in Toowoomba on the 30 Nov 1915 age 21 years 3 months. Height 5 foot 7 inches, Weight 154 pounds, Chest 29.5 inches, complexion medium, Eyes are grey, Hair, light in colour C of E.
No.9 Depot Battalion, D company, 17 Rifles, 15 Battalion.
1 April 1916, embarked Brisbane on Transylvania to reinforce BEF. (19 April 1916 in red ink?????) perhaps that date is when the ship left Australian waters!!
24 May 1916, disembarked Hawks Bay, Egypt.
27 May 1916.Taken on Strength, Embarked 1 June 1916 Egypt, Alexandria,
8 June 1916 Disembarked Marseilles, France,
10 August 1916. Wounded in action, France to 10 Reg Gen Hospital France (no memory of event)
Was buried by shell explosion, his leg was twisted under him, left knee was enlarged 1/2 larger than right leg, leg cannot be extended. (Three months in hospital) Was Richard Harvey hit by a friendly shell as the heavy allied guns shells were landing in the Australian front line?
Embarked 15Aug 1916 @ Rouen, Harvey on ship 'Asturias' bound for England (concussion, left thigh)
15 Aug 1916 Arrived in England, (Richard Harvey had small fragments of shell which remained in his body through out his whole life, occasionally a small fragment would surface in his skin and could be removed, witness, son, Ray Harvey.
16 Aug 1916. Admitted Lord Derby War Hospital @ Warrington concussion wounded left thigh/knee
24 August, War Office Cabled Jonathan Harvey, son Richard, wounded
9 Sept, telegram. REGRET REPORTED SON RICHARD HARVEY WOUNDED WILL PROMPTLY ADVISE IF ANYTHING FURTHER RECEIVED. BASE RECORDS 9.9.1916
3 Nov 1916 MO to Wareham, temporally unfit, Whymouth
1 Jan 1917to Draft Depot Perham Downs from Wareham
7 Jan 1917, marched in from Wareham to Perham Downs
7 Jan 1917 'S.S. Invictra' from Folkestone, Perham Downs
8 Jan marched out Parham Downs, Wareham
8 Jan 1917, Mumps, Sick to Brimstone General Hospital from Infantry Draft Depot
7/8 Feb 1917.Proceeded overseas to France on S.S. Invictra from Folkestone,
13 Feb 1917.Rejoined Battalion from wounded
17 Feb 1917 from England Rejoin 15 Battalion
18 March 1917, Absent Without Leave from 1900 hrs to 0600 hrs 19 March 1917. Forfeit 7 days pay by Camp Commandant 21 March 1917.
23 Mar 1917 Forfeit Total 8 day’s 2 pounds forfeit.
21 July 1917, Hospital sick.
28 July 1917, sick to Field Hospital Synovitis knee
4 Aug 1917 2nd AGGS, Synovitis Left Knee,
5 Aug 1917 3rd AGGS, Synovitis Left Knee, Rouen, France
12 Aug 1917 2nd AGGS Synovitis Left Knee, (ordered to England)
18. August 1917 embarked 'Cairisbrook Castle' for England (Synovitis Knee)
Southampton (Synovitis Knee)

10 Sept 1917 Discharge Furlough from 10 Sept 1914 to 24 Sept 1917, then report to Depot, Codford.
30 Sept 1917 Sick to Camp, No.4 C Depot, Isolation, Scabies,
7 Oct 1917 marched in from camp hospital, isolation 14 October 1917 marched in from Codford.
31 October 1917 marched to overseas T Brigade.
4 Nov 1917 sick to Brigade Hospital, Synovitis knee. Place S Veney. Class C.1
5 March 1918 sick to Grp. Cig Hosp Influenza. 12 March 1918 marched in from Grp. Cig Hosp.
28 March 1918 Marched in to No.2 Com Dept. Weymouth. Marched in from No.1 Com Dept 'Sutton Veny'.
19 April 1918 Crime Weymouth Being in Weymouth w/out a pass Award admonished by Lt. Colonel A Jackson (Lucky man).
13 June 1918 Return to Australia per D12. To Australia from England for change Synovitis Knee

Return to Australia 7 June 1918 / 25 June 1918.
Dick returned to Australia on the 'Essex', according to my dad, they threw their Piano overboard because they were not allowed to bring it into Australia.

Residence & Life
MAIL ADDRESS: lived at 372 Millers Road, Kuraby (now Underwood) from 1932 until his death 1983 In the same house previously owned and lived in by William Underwood (after whom the area is now named), Mr. Underwood also owned the block next door which was the site of the Eight Mile Plains Hotel (not the Glen Hotel), it was a Cobb & Co's changing station, the hotel was sited beside the creek at the junction of Logan Road and Beenleigh Road, Mr Underwood operated the hotel until it's closure in 189?? When Cob & Co ceased operating in the district. Cob & Co changed horses here while the passengers rested and dined in the hotel. The hotel building had disappeared by 1932 and only the stumps remained, the coach shed with its high tin roof was still there. Red and white English roses were growing wild each side of the gate to the Hotel and a large Persimmon tree planted by William Underwood is still there now (2008), the fruit from it was never very nice.

In 1914, while Dick's parents were in Brisbane seeing their son Ted and grandson Tom off to war, a willy-willy ripped off the front of their Chadford home, spreading the roofing iron over a large area. Dick borrowed a wagon to collect the iron, but while loading, this noise made the horse bolt, thus spreading the iron even further afield and also damaging the wagon for which Dick had to pay.

When Dick turned twenty-one he enlisted in the A.I.F. on the 30th November, 1915 travelling there on a recruitment train from Wallumbilla. In view of his Service in the 'Volunteers' and being fully trained as a horseman, Dick was assigned to the Light Horse. He refused to leave the mates he had enlisted with, and was given five days in the ‘Cooler’ without pay. He led a chequered life in the army with the 15th Battalion, Dick left Brisbane on the 28 March 1916 0n the HMSCommonwealth, on reaching Egypt the two friends he fought to stay with were disembarked for further training while Dick left on the 16 June 1916 with the 15 Bat for France, taking part in the Battle of the Somme where he was wounded on the 8th September 1916 (see his papers) from an exploding shell at the front and was repatriated to England. Dick returned to the front several times but the damage to his knee finally took its toll. Dick was to return for the last time when they decided he was unfit for further military action at that time and was sent home on the "HMS Essex" (arrived 7 June 1918) to recuperate. On arriving in Brisbane they dumped a piano overboard Dick said was because customs wanted duty paid on it. He was not home long when the war ended and Dick was discharged on the 3rd December, 1918. During the flu' epidemic in New South Wales, Bert Shaw - husband of Emma Harvey (Dick's sister), died, and Dick went and brought back his sister and her young family to Wallumbilla, where Emma then opened a fruit shop.

After being discharged Dick started slaughtering in his fathers slaughtering yard, selling wholesale. When his brother Ted returned from overseas in 1919 they opened butcher shops in Wallumbilla, Roma and Yuleba. Morris Muriel Mires (Dick's sister-in-Law), who had been Station Mistress at Muggleton, became their bookkeeper. These shops eventually ran into financial trouble, owing to the severe competition from the State Butchery. (These State run butcher shops were a financial disaster for the Government and they too closed late in 1920). Ted had married Morris Muriel Miers, and Dick was courting Elizabeth Forbes Miers, (Beth). The couple use to meet at a large log when courting while Dick waited for the train to load the mea t for their Roma Shop. Some bright spark set fire to the log destroying there meting point. Beth was sent away several times by her parents to discourage the couple’s courtship. Eventually Beth persuaded her parents to consent(expecting) and they were married at the Stanthorpe residence of Richard Thompson, with. Albert Thompson and Lillian Thompson witnessing the marriage ceremony on the 30th June, 1921. Dick was farming and cattle-dealing at Chadford near the time he married Beth Miers. They lived at Chadford first on his parent’s property at Chadford which he managed before the war then on his own property he purchased, later they moved to Wallumbilla in 1925 where they had a drapery and grocers shop, keeping their property to run cattle.

In 1925 Dicks parents, Jonathan & Emma were now quite old, he dismantled Jonathan and Emma's old home at Yuleba, and carted it by many wagon loads to Wallumbilla. Dick, Ted and their father-in-law, Bill Miers erected it on its present site in Wallumbilla. Dick then acquired 'Misery Hill, Lot 115, Chadford - (apparently Dick took this property in lieu of debt still owing to him by his brother Ted). Dick then purchased Shaw's Property, extending the house and building a shed for Wilfred Williams at the rear. Wilfred had come out under the Bush Brotherhood Scheme.’ The ring-barkers employed on the property camped in the bush. Here Dick and Beth ran dairy cows, taking cream to the railway at Wallumbilla for shipment to the Roma Butter Factory Co Op. The cream was taken to Wallumbilla then to Roma by rail to the Co-op. until it ran into financial difficulties and paid for the cream in Co-op shares which was unacceptable. After that the cream was sent toMiles my ra il. The land was cleared for ploughing, and Beth used to say the stumps burning at night Looked like a city of lights. Additional income was generated by raising pigs on a concoction consisting of skim milk and the juice extracted from boiled prickly pear Cotton was cultivated on this land being picked by hand, the cotton was usually placed into sacks about the size of a wool pack and then pressed down by stomping on the cotton.

At this time, there had been no rain for a long period, the dams were dry and the only water available was in the creek adjoining both Dick and Alex Bardine's properties. Bardine considered this his own private supply, and when Dick tried towat er his animals the Bardines threw stones at the stock, driving them away. Dick called in the Ranger who spoke to Bardine but to no avail. Whenever Dick’s stock went to water they were always driven off. Dick approached his friend PaddyHughes, the local constable for assistance. Paddy said officially he could not help, however, they decided there was a score to settle. It was well known locally that Bardine owed a large amount of back rates to the Bendemere Shire Council (as most of the landowners did at that time). Using this knowledge Paddy called on Bardine with an official looking document demanding that the back rates be paid within seven days or be jailed. Bardine's reluctance to part with money was well known and so, one week later, loaded up with a supply of watermelons, he reported to the Wallumbilla Police Station, prepared to serve his time. Paddy, who had no authority to arrest him, told him he would have to be kept in the Brisbane Jail. Bardine, not so keen on the thoughts of a city jail reluctantly wrote out a cheque for the owing rates. Paddy, elated at his success, warned Bardine he would suffer a similar fate if he had any more complaints relating to the water. Thereafter Dick had no further trouble.

Dances were held at the Chadford School, which was on part of the “Camping, Water Reserve (R83)". Dick and Beth would go along with the children, arriving back home just in time to do the milking. Other entertainment consisted of family gatherings and visits by various religious bodies. One of these religious groups "The Bush Brotherhood” carried a pedal organ on a wagon from district to district, covering a tremendous area. Owing to the long time between visits, children in the same family were often christened under different denominations - whoever happened to be around at the time. (I was baptised as a Methodist, "Ray Harvey")

Dick had acquired a number of properties, one, in 1928, a Perpetual Lease, called 'Black Gully. In 1929 Dick and Beth moved to the southern side of Wallumbilla, ("I believe the house remaining on that selection today is Jonathan and Emma’s "old home"). Here they purchased a 1926 Overland car, and Dick had a contract supplying telegraph poles to the Government. He also obtained a contract to supply rocks for the construction of foundations of a new Wallumbilla Post Office; he carted these from 'Misery Hill' Chadford. In this same period he worked the slaughter yard, employing his brother John an aborigine. In 1931 Dick held an Auction Sale to sell their properties and personal effects - some properties were passed in and not sold at this time. In 1931 the family moved to Kuraby where they had Dairy Cows, and grew small crops. He butchered for a period at Woodridge in the shops owned by his son Ray, after which he retired, living on in the old home once owned by William Underwood where they lived since leaving Wallumbilla.

Dick often dug up a new garden bed to plant vegetable, but the next thing he knew Beth would have planted her flowers in it. He reckoned she dogged his footsteps wherever he dug. She won many prizes for her blooms and would donate pot plantsto local charities. After Beth's death from a stroke on the 21st June, 1969, Dick never recovered, becoming almost a recluse, with' his interest in his family fading for a number of years. However, after he suffered a heart attack in198 3, his interest in the family was restored, and he showed great affection for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Dick died peacefully at home on the 28th August, 1983. Dick and Beth now rest together at the Mt. Gravatt Cemetery.
Australian Military Units
15th Battalion
The 15th Battalion AIF was raised from late September 1914, six weeks after the outbreak of the First World War. Three-quarters of the battalion were recruited as volunteers from Queensland, and the rest from Tasmania. With the 13th, 14th and16t h Battalions it formed the 4th Brigade, commanded by Colonel John Monash.
The Queensland and Tasmanian recruits were united when the battalion trained together in Victoria. They embarked for overseas just before Christmas. After a brief stop in Albany, Western Australia, the battalion proceeded to Egypt, arriving in early February 1915. Australia already had an AIF division there, the 1st. When the 4th Brigade arrived in Egypt, it became part of the New Zealand and Australian Division. The 4th Brigade landed at ANZAC Cove, Gallipoli late in the afternoon of 25 April 1915.
From May to August, the battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the ANZAC beachhead. In August, the 4th Brigade attacked Hill 971. The hill was taken at great cost although Turkish reinforcements forced the Australians to withdraw. At the end of the month, a detachment from A Company reinforced the 14th Battalion’s unsuccessful attack on Hill 60. The 15th Battalion served at ANZAC Cove until the evacuation in December.
After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the battalion returned to Egypt. While there, the AIF was expanded and was reorganised. The 15th Battalion was split and provided experienced soldiers for the 47th Battalion. The 4th Brigade was combined with the 12th and 13th Brigades to form the 4th Australian Division.
In June 1916, Dick Harvey joined the 15th; they sailed for France and the Western Front. From then until 1918, the battalion took part in bloody trench warfare. Its first major action in France was at Pozieres in August 1916 where Dick was wounded by a shell burst. Along with most of the 4th Brigade, the battalion suffered heavy losses at Bullecourt in April 1917 when the brigade attacked strong German positions without the promised tank support. It spent much of the remainder of1917 in Belgium, advancing to the Hindenburg Line.
In March and April 1918, the battalion helped stop the German spring offensive. In July 1918, as a result of his valorous actions during the fighting near Hamel, Private Henry Dalzell was awarded the battalion’s only Victoria Cross. The battalion participated in the great allied offensive of 1918, fighting near Amiens on 8 August 1918. This advance by British and empire troops was the greatest success in a single day on the Western Front, one that German General ErichLudendorff describe d as “...the black day of the German Army in this war...”.
The battalion continued operations until late September 1918. At 11 am on 11 November 1918, the guns fell silent. In November 1918, members of the AIF began to return to Australia for demobilisation and discharge.

Richard Harvey </nominalrolls/ww1/embarkation/person.asp?p=114161> 5422 15 Infantry Battalion - 1 to 23 Reinforcements