HAROLD GEORGE D’SOUZA
ONE
OF LIFE’S GREAT GUYS
Another Star Next Door
This celebration of a great buddy has been long overdue. I have been slow getting off
the mark for one unforgivable reason or another. His fans have been quite
vociferous: write the story! At last, here it is.
Harold with his Community Service Award for 31 years of dedicated service to the community
Harold George D'Souza: always with a smile
Harold
George D’Souza picking up one of the many trophies he has won in his sports
career in Mombasa Kenya.
IT
IS one of life’s greatest gifts when you meet someone who is a very special
human being: genuinely popular with everyone he has met, naturally honest,
completely unassuming and humility personified. You would think anyone with the
happy baggage of all those accolades might be overloaded with a tendency to
trip here or there, but not HAROLD GEORGE D’SOUZA.
He
was blessed with great parents. George D’Souza was a great club man and a
public speaker in demand at the club, at weddings, christenings and other social
events. He was also an avid sportsman and instilled this love of sports in both
his sons: Harold George and the late Peter George, who left this earth doing
what he loved most in his leisure hours, fishing.
I
think his greatest gift has been the God-given ability to look any challenge,
any mishap, anything that life has thrown his way, including several challenges
of limb and illness dead-straight in the eye and soldier on regardless of whatever
might be.
Perhaps
his greatest blessing has always been the four women in his life: wife Hazel
and daughters Hayley, Gail, Hylette. These joys of life were increased ten-fold
and more with sons-in-law David Walker,
the late Sean MacKay and Greg Evans and, of
course, the greatest delights of all, the grandchildren: Aaron and Shanyce Walker, Lachlan
Mackay, Ethan, Blake, Noah and Willow Evans. Harold is not one to show-off or big-note
himself, even when talking about his grandchildren, he does it with quiet
elegance, almost understating the praise but it is always written over his
beaming face.
Tony
and Rebecca D’Souza, the late Tony Coutinho and Lucinda, my late wife Rufina
and I have spent many summers as guests of Mal and Margaret Ferris at their
mountain lodges at Eaglereach in the wine country not far from Sydney. Once
when we had a whisper of wind in our hair, we used to meet on most Saturday
nights for dinner, a few jokes, and happy banter and grateful that we were able
to do so.
Harold
has an infectious smile, a sharp defence of his beliefs and his considered
points of view, a hearty laugh and consideration for others above all. He is
also a fish curry and rice addict, prawn curry most welcome or any traditional
Goan dishes. He is just a jolly good bloke.
Of
course, Harold and Hazel were also big supporters of the Goan Overseas
Association since its inception in Sydney during the early 1970s. They still
are, to a large degree.
But
that is not the reason for this humble celebration of a man we all admire. More
than anything else, Harold has always been a dedicated sportsman. He grew up in
Kisumu and Mombasa and most of the capital cities, the provincial headquarters
and where a few Goan got together their lives would be dominated by the Goan
Institute whose members had an almost religious dedication to sports, social
events, concerts, and this and that. But it was sports that dominated club life
both in individual events and team sports. This love of sport was nurtured by
success at district and province-wide competition. Perhaps the greatest rivalries
were reserved for inter-club sports visits. Club sport was more than just
playing the game, there was always all social aspects of growing up, boy meets
girl and vice versa.
Goans
mainly from Mombasa and Nairobi produced half players at each of the Olympics
since 1956.
There
was plenty to play for and if you did not make it at representative level there
were plenty of rewards at club level.
Harold
and some of his siblings were born in Kisumu, the charming pioneering town on
the shores of the mighty and legendary Lake Victoria. Like everywhere elsewhere
there was a sizeable Goan community, there was the Goan Institute mainly sport,
social and cultural events. When he was eight years old, his parent decided to
send him to St Paul’s High School in Belgaum, a few hours drive from villages
in Goa. He spent a year in Parra, Goa after he fell ill.
Soon
after he arrived in Mombasa, he was playing those games little boys play
including seven tiles (I wonder how many of you remember this, hop, hop, hop etc
game) and of course cricket and hockey. He was soon captain of the Mombasa Goan
School cricket and hockey teams. He played centre-forward in hockey and was an
opening bat in cricket. He says, he was a shy a little boy. Hard to believe,
with those large laughing eyes!
At
school he also excelled in 100m, 200m, long jump, high jump, shot putt, triple
jump, javelin, discuss. Harold won the junior Victor Ludorum and Albert
Castanha won the senior Victor Ludorum.
It
was long before he had smoothly slipped into the senior club sides in both
sports. He picked up the cricket captaincy fairly early in club career and
visited the neighbouring coastal towns in Tanzania and, of course, Zanzibar.
He
also visited Nairobi many times to play in the M R De Souza Gold Cup which was
the pre-eminent knock-out hockey tournament in East Africa. His Mombasa
teammates included some of the legends of the Mombasa game: Alban Fernandes
(who played cricket and hockey for Tanganyika), Peter George D’Souza, Patrick
Martins, Albert Castanha, Walter Castanha, Reynolds Pereira, Franklin Pereira,
Michael Pereira, Edwin Fernandes, Silvano and Leslie Pinto, Procop Fernandes
and his son Michael. The legend, Sana (Agnelo De Souza) coached many a team
Harold played in.
This
was especially true of Baobao team which was founded by Sana.
Most
hockey players also played cricket. Eventually, Harold was poached for the
Coast Gymkhana team, where he enjoyed a lot of success.
Even
more success came when he swapped his bat for the cricket umpire’s hat. A rare
honour came his way when he was asked to umpire the MCC v Coast XI. The English
team was led by a young former South African, Tony Greig, who went to lead
England and late spent most of his life as a top cricket commentator.
Naturally,
Harold was also a gifted athlete, specialising in the 100m and 200m dash and
trained and ran against the like of Seraphino Antao, Albert Castanha (one of
his greatest friends), Joe Faria and Alcino Rodrigues.
As
I said Harold was a sports nut and good at all of them: hockey, cricket,
soccer, tennis, badminton, table tennis, and snooker.
Harold
was the father of sport in the Goan Overseas Association in Sydney, NSW. He
began with organizing sports at the various picnic days the association hosted and
eventually raised two teams to play indoor and outdoor cricket, a hockey team
and indoor soccer team to take on Melbourne in two reciprocal visits. He also
introduced and nurtured a healthy men’s and women’s darts teams as meeting the
needs for table tennis fans at the annual-club sports days.
MALCOLM MONTEIRO: When I first arrived to go to University in
Sydney in the early 1980s, my parents put me in touch with a few Goan icons
from Kenya. One of those was Harold George, who would have known my parents
through the various Goan clubs and sports connections from the old days.
Harold had been living in Sydney for some time and was the
Sports Secretary and Hockey Captain of the GOA NSW. Harold invited me to play
and train with the club on Sundays. He gave me the opportunity to play at centre-half
position for several years under his captaincy.
I remember catching the public transport from the University
to the northern suburb of Hornsby, where Harold would pick me up and drive me
to training. We always enjoyed a beer after training, which was the highlight of
my Sunday.
The GOA Sydney/Melbourne matches were incredibly
competitive and the blue-ribbon event of the sports visit long weekend. It pit
Goan family against Goan family and all the boys played seriously as if it was
for ‘sheep stations’.
Harold was a great captain who was humble, calm and
exemplified sportsmanship. The team played well together under him. I will
always remember Harold, as a great sportsman who put a lot of effort into
developing and mentoring young players. He is also a committed family man and I
enjoyed spending time with his family during our sports visits.
With
the assistance of Tony Fernandes, he organized several full-programmed
athletics meetings.
As
much as he achieved in encouraging adults to play sports, he was more delighted
to see so many youngsters taking up the games of their choice.
In
Sydney, Harold was the eternal cricket wicketkeeper and captain and Alban
Rattos the two formed a formidable bond. Alban was one of my favourite batsmen
and I got to see him just a few times, but he was all class and polish.
He
was GOA Sportsman of the Year one season and his daughter Hylette was
Sportswoman of the Year the same year.
He
scored his first century playing for the Grace Brothers team.
These
days he is happy to enjoy his sport from the armchair and the TV screen. Njoy,
you more than most have earned the right to relax after having given so much of
your life to sport … and encouraging so many youngsters to take up the sport of
their choice. As they read this, I am sure they will be raising a glass or two
in celebration of their friend: Harold George.
Harold
George at the opening ceremony with Ruth D’Costa at one of the Melbourne/Sydney
sports visit.
Harold
George standing second from right in the Baobab hockey team.
THE
Mombasa GI cricket team: Harold George standing front extreme right, the late
Albert Castanha wicket-keeping on this occasion
One
of the Sydney-Melbourne sports visits
Mombasa
inter-schools hockey team: Harold George seating middle row extreme right, note
the Elvis Presley hairdo attempt. The late Joe Fernandes, standing extreme
right, was the sports master.
Mombasa
inter-school cricket winners: