{"id":101695,"date":"2015-04-01T23:40:09","date_gmt":"2015-04-01T13:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=101695"},"modified":"2021-01-27T14:44:41","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T04:44:41","slug":"henry-helped-create-league-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/04\/01\/henry-helped-create-league-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Henry Helped Create League History"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Henry Hegarty holds a picture of the Brisbane rugby league side he was selected for in the 1960s … Henry believes being educated gave him the confidence to leave Cherbourg and make a life for himself in Brisbane (Photo: Marcus Priaulx)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

April 2, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Marcus Priaulx<\/strong>
\nBarambah PaCE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Henry Hegarty never felt nervous when meeting royalty, the Prime Minister, industry heads or tackling the likes of Artie Beetson on the footy field.<\/p>\n

The champion rugby league player from Cherbourg was taught he was as good as anybody by coach Bob Bax.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe always said \u2018When you meet somebody, no matter who they are, look \u2019em in the eye and shake their hand tight\u2019,\u201d Henry said.<\/p>\n

Henry adopted the belief and his kind, gentle nature meant he received support from people throughout is life.<\/p>\n

He was born in the house he now lives in but left Cherbourg for Brisbane in 1960 when encouraged to do so by Mission superintendent Harry Mickel.<\/p>\n

Henry had received eight As and one B on his junior Murgon High School exams and was a good a footballer.<\/p>\n

He was given a letter of introduction to the Valleys football club by a teacher and put on an overnight train to Mayne Junction, Brisbane.<\/p>\n

Henry was 17 years old and excited about his future.<\/p>\n

But when he made a phone call to the Valleys’ coach on arriving he was told “get a train to Wilston, then catch one to Albion and walk from the Albion Fiveways to Newman Oval and we\u2019ll see you at training”.<\/p>\n

Henry had never been outside of Cherbourg or Murgon and thought: “This bloke\u2019s not interested” as they could have easily picked him up.<\/p>\n

It was a moment that changed his life for the better.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Henry\u2019s cousin Alan Bell worked at the Northgate cannery that stood in the heartland of Norths Rugby League Club.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He picked Henry up and took him to a Norths’ training session.<\/p>\n

\u201cI proved my worth and that was it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Henry was quickly dubbed Huckleberry Hound by teammates due to his HH initials.<\/p>\n

He scored numerous tries as a centre and winger and was chosen for A Grade three years later.<\/p>\n

There he fell under the eye of Bob Bax, who Henry credits with teaching legendary coach Wayne Bennett everything he knew.<\/p>\n

At the time Henry was working in Brisbane as a government clerk.<\/p>\n

Bob knew Henry had to move as players could only play for the district they lived in during the 1960s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was living in Wilston, in the western suburbs district, and catching a train to work with players from Brothers and Wests,\u201d Henry said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to move or they\u2019d dob me in.\u201d<\/p>\n

So Bob organised for Henry to live with his mother \u201cMrs Bax\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never called her by her Christian name but she was like a mother to me,\u201d Henry said. \u201cI ended up calling her mum and she treated me like her family.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Henry stayed with Mrs Bax for three years and became a regular A Grader for the Norths Devils – the team that became Brisbane Rugby League\u2019s most successful side ever.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It won six straight premierships from 1959\u201364 and Henry played in the last five.<\/p>\n

The Devils repeated the feat again in 1966. Henry was a 60kg (nine stone) winger and centre who scored plenty of tries, kicked a few goals and loved to tackle the big men.<\/p>\n

These included Australian representatives Mick Veivers, Peter Gallagher and the first Aborigine to captain any Australian team, Arthur Beetson.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big blokes were a lot slower and I\u2019d pick them up and throw them on their back,\u201d Henry said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt never hurt them, no spear tackles, but these days you can\u2019t do it. You\u2019d get penalised.\u201d<\/p>\n

Towards the end of Henry\u2019s career he was made Norths captain.<\/p>\n

Beetson had arrived at Redcliffe as \u201ca big, slow raw boned centre from Roma”.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey reckoned he had six pies before training,\u201d Henry said. \u201cHe was easy to tackle then. You\u2019d hit him around the ankles. You didn\u2019t go high on the big fellas.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n

During the 1960s, Henry married Lyn, had daughters Kym and Renae, kept working in the public service, bought a house, introduced Australia\u2019s 19th prime minister, John Gorton, to his teammates as the Devils\u2019 captain, and was introduced to the Queen of Thailand.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a good sort,\u201d Henry said with a smile.<\/p>\n

He was also invited to State Parliament House to drink with teammates after grand final wins. Bill Knox – who later became Deputy Premier – was the Member for Nundah at the time.<\/p>\n

Cherbourg beckoned in 1990 after Henry\u2019s marriage broke up and he returned to a town that had changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the restrictions were taken off and people were driving around in cars,\u201d Henry said.<\/p>\n

However, most of his school mates still lived there, as did his brothers Colin and James.<\/p>\n

Henry coached the nearby Wondai A Grade side and a South Burnett team that stunned everybody when it won the Caltex Shield against teams from Maryborough, Sunshine Coast and Gympie.<\/p>\n

He worked as a truck driver for Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council and remained employed by the local authority until his 70th birthday.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Looking back, Henry doesn\u2019t believe he would have had such a fulfilling life if he hadn\u2019t received the education he did from Cherbourg primary and Murgon High schools.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you get outside the town it\u2019s a different sort of life,\u201d Henry said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to know how to talk to people; none of this looking at the ground. You have to look them in the eye and feel confident in your ability to be as good or better than them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what education gives you. The first thing I did when I came home was my homework, then I\u2019d go train for football.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was my motto.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy education came first and I had good support from my mum and dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Footnote: In 2008, during the year of the Centenary of Rugby League, Henry was named as one of the members of Norths Devils’ greatest team ever.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Henry Hegarty in full flight while playing for Norths Devils against Redcliffe at Lang Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Henry Hegarty never felt nervous when meeting royalty, the Prime Minister or tackling Artie Beetson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":101698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,82,6],"tags":[1135,1140],"yoast_head":"\nHenry Helped Create League History - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/04\/01\/henry-helped-create-league-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Henry Helped Create League History - southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Henry Hegarty never felt nervous when meeting royalty, the Prime Minister or tackling Artie Beetson\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/04\/01\/henry-helped-create-league-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-01T13:40:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-27T04:44:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150401hegarty1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"385\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/04\/01\/henry-helped-create-league-history\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/04\/01\/henry-helped-create-league-history\/\",\"name\":\"Henry Helped Create League History - 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