Leonard Michael Harris
Leonard was born on May 6th, 1908. He died at the age of 94 on May 5th, 2003.
- Death Notes
- Died St Catherines Nursing Home
Funeral Holy Redeemer Surrey Hills
Buried Springvale Necropolis 8 May 2003
Eulogy for Leonard Michael Harris OBE by Adrian Harris for May 8th Requiem Mass
To compose a eulogy about my father has been difficult, as I wanted to cover all his talents, this is not only impossible, but now I think this is not necessary, as Dad probably touched all of us in similar ways, and his good influence acting in all of us is his real eulogy.
As some have said, he set the example and the challenge, but then supported us in many quiet ways. We all have our own memories of wise words important to each of us, so my intention today is just to prompt some good memories of him, without taking too much time.
A brief summary of his life;
His Primary School was St Johns Hawthorne. He won a scholarship to Xavier, graduated from Melbourne Uni, had a successful career in the APO from 1926 to 1973.
His professional work included setting up the ABC Canberra sound studios, and providing good telephone connections from Canberra to Prime Minister Lyons in London in 1937. He remembers they had to work at night, and he found a fold out bed for Mum in the unoccupied Prime ministers office, as she was lonely in the hotel. He led International Conferences on telecommunications in Asia, America and Europe, was awarded an OBE for telecommunications public service. After retirement, he worked with the reluctant three armed forces, and successfully rationalised and commonised their communication systems, he also worked on the Box Hill Hospital Board.
He raised 6 children starting in the war years, through to the early 60's. Our education was very important to him, especially learning about our Faith, and he discerned that the best combination was Sion for the Girls and St Pats for me, but then the Salesians for the Paul, Mike, and Martin (something must have gone wrong with me). After his retirement at 65 in 1973, he decided to build a holiday house in Sorrento to be shared simultaneously by the family, and of course the design to sleep 16 in 3 normal sized bedrooms, plus extras on bed-couches was ambitious and uniquely his. The idea was that since we knew to follow the first new commandment, (love one another), we simply would, and we could all live together in harmony. We did some of the time, and TV being banned, there are many happy memories, of table tennis, cricket, Monopoly, Yatze, and swimming. Sometimes walks at night were necessary, which just happened to be at Rosary time. He was also very glad that various others also shared the house, especially Salesians.
Dad did consider his relationship with God as private, but said "we were privileged to be co-operating in the ongoing act of creation, and helping children to find Gods truth, so that some day we may all share in the life of the Trinity".
I could tell he really valued his Grandchildren, as we were always invited on the feast of the Holy Family to celebrate Mass together with the readings and prayers on "seeing your childrens children to the 3rd and 4th generation". This prayer is answered with his 21 Grandchildren and 23 Great grandchildren.
As a contrast, some of his longest friendships were with post office engineers & families, and he assisted some German migrant engineers to come here after the war to work in research. Also after the war we had a Hungarian family living in the Bungalow in our backyard, to help them assimilate, I don't know if fighting with Paul, Michael and Martin was part of the plan.
Dad had many interests. He headed off to Europe by ship in 1935 with Phil Hosken after persuading the Department that they would accept 3 months pay for 8 months absence. He visited many Countries researching organ pipes (a fanciful excuse to help get the trip), lenses, Nazi telephones, sound recording at BBC, and early sound recording on film at Paramount USA. He went bush walking in the Black Forest, toured England, and appreciated art in Italy. Later he lead a delegation of 14 to the 1963 conference, his major conference, which set up satellite communication and navigation and obtained agreement between proud countries.
Family Snippets
He prayed. A couple of weeks ago, Dad told me a great gift he had prayed for (in fact he suddenly burst into loud prayer at the nursing home lunch table embarrassing me), was that he would be blessed with children in his marriage. I realised that medically, children were not taken for granted in the forties, (a different era) and of course he and Mum had 6 of us which they saw as a blessing. Let me hasten to add that his children are all here, Chris, and Mike, came from Paris, and Bro Mike came from Adelaide, and we would be the last to claim to be blessings, but in fact are filled with a healthy level of imperfection, but striving for perfection. Grandchildren Julie and James, Gabrielle, Clare, Matt and family are praying now in New York for him, and Lees' Michael and Martins daughter Kate are by this time having a drink for him in London. Paul Bendall is flying, on his way home from the cricket, but they all send their support.
We had fun. We had an Essex Super Six, which went over to grandmas every Sunday afternoon, and I could fit in the dogs kennel in the 40's. It also made the long trip to Tallangatta to the Dunlops and to the Jarvis Creek Kirks in the summer holidays. Sometimes we went to the Burke Road bridge and fished. Dad used to take us to the Camberwell Baths on hot nights until the Essex caught fire from the battery under the front seat which I well remember as it was full of highly flammable horses hair, and Iwas sitting on it. Later they bought a Vanguard from Uncle Jack, and we moved into the modern era.
He valued reading and personal quiet time. I remember Dad sometimes dissappeared on Sunday as Mum would be preparing the roast dinner, and we knew to get him out of the car where he would be reading with the car parked in the sun.
He was a good teacher, as typically, Anne recalls on the family table at Sorrento he explained Trig Sine, Cos. & Tan, using a circle, that she now uses on her students who say "Your Smaart!" Anne also recalls the over-bright Fluorescent lights over the dining table at 9 Wellesley St installed for homework, not for candle lit dinners.
Dad (not to mention Mum) was a great exponent of the rosary and devotion to Our Lady, this was felt by the family and this parish. Every opportunity was used. They visited Lourdes, Fatima and Medgorie etc with great devotion.
He socialised. I remember many happy Sunday afternoon teas at home and at other Post Office peoples places, in the post war years.
He loved the Catholic Faith. Dad considered himself lucky to have been taught the Penny Catechism by Fr Charles Delany in primary, who saw that they understood the rote learned truths with jokes, he still remembered, to his death. With the Jesuits at Xavier, and Sundays at the Immaculate Conception, by the age of 20 Dad said he knew that Communism was a major threat to the Church & the rights of Workers. Pope Leo X111 inspired the Campion Society which resulted in Catholic Action networks supported by the bishops, and Dad was proud of his role against Communism.
Dad was secretary of a Parents and Friends committee appointed to examine the Catholic Education Office Guidelines for Secondary Religious education, compared to the Vaticans's General Catechetical Directory. He and mum were active in many groups including pregnancy support, etc.
Dad lived 95 years to the day, some of us had the good fortune to be with him at the end as he received the last Sacrament. The wonderful staff at St Catherines performed in a typically very caring manner to the last. I know he would like us to pray for him that he will be forgiven his sins and that he will be accepted into heaven, especially today, in the Parish he was in for 54 years.
We can now move to where members of the family would like to bring forward some reminders of his life. Please come one at a time and I will say what the symbols are for those who cant see them.
End of Adrian's reading
Detail:
Career with Australian Post Office
My Father joined the department as a Cadet Engineer in 1926, just after his eighteenth birthday.
He was appointed as an engineer in the Research Laboratories. He remained with the Laboratories from 1930 until 1960.
His name is closely associated with the early establishment of the A.P.O telephone transmission reference standards, with the National Broadcasting System. In 1932 he took terrible risks with ABC broadcasts from Sydney Conservatorium. Worked on recording on tape, helped design the Canberra ABC sound studios, and suddenly there was the war, just after Dad had tested Parliament House for sound by firing off a starters pistol.
He always looked for benefit to mankind in research and therefore moved from entertainment to telephone and radio communication.
When he first qualified as an engineer. Mr. Harris joined the department as a Cadet Engineer in 1926, just after his eighteenth birthday. He completed his training in 1930, gaining the degree of Bachelor of Science from Melbourne University, and was appointed as an engineer in the Laboratories. Mr Harris remained with the Laboratories until 1954, gaining promotion to Divisional Engineer in 1948 and acting as Sectional Engineer, line communication from 1947-1954.
Mr. Len Harris became the fourth head of laboratories following the retirement of Mr. McCay in 1960. He was promoted to the position of Supervising Engineer, Long Line Equipment, in the Engineering Works Division. He was however well acquainted with the laboratories, Having served for a period of 24 years as a member of their staff from1930,
During this period, his work lay in the fields of telephone transmission standards, transmission equipment and systems, and the design and evaluation of telephone apparatus and broadcasting studio equipment. His name is closely associated with the early establishment of the A.P.O telephone and telephone transmission reference standards, with the National Broadcasting System, and with carrier system investigations.
In 1954, he was promoted to Sectional Engineer, Long Line Equipment, leaving the Laboratories for a period of 6 years before returning as Supervising Engineer. During this period he became Supervising Engineer, Long Line Equipment, and was heavily involved in the Sydney-Melbourne Coaxial cable project, the first broadband system to be used in Australia to link capital cities.
He returned to the Research Laboratories as Supervising Engineer, Research, in 1960 and immediately became involved in a joint Post Office/Public Service Board committee review of the Scope, Functions and Organisation of the research Laboratories. The report of the committee known as the Harris-Brown-Dwyer Report, formed the basis of the reorganisation of the research Laboratories as a Branch in 1963, and Mr. Harris was promoted Assistant Engineer-in-chief in charge. This Reorganisation gave the Research Laboratories enhanced status in the Department and the framework then laid down has been the basis of growth over the ensuing years.
In 1964, following a major reorganisation of Headquarters, Mr Harris was promoted to First Assistant Director-General in charge of the new Planning and Research Division, with overall responsibility for the Planning and Research activities of the Post Office. This promotion ended his period of direct responsibility for the research Laboratories, although, in his position as First Assistant Director-General, he continued to guide the growth and programme of the laboratories and worked closer liaison between the laboratories' activities and the mainstream of the department's engineering requirements. Mr Harris recognised the opportunity that the growing research schools in the Australian universities offered for stimulating research on projects of interest to the Department and he has actively fostered relationships between the Research Laboratories and the Universities. In recent years he was Chairman of the Radio Research Board - a body that provides grants of over $100,000 per annum to support research projects in Australian universities. His interest in tertiary education was demonstrated by his membership of the Engineering Faculty of the University of Melbourne until 1972. Mr Harris continued to occupy the position of First Assistant Director General until his retirement in May 1973, but for the last year or so he was assigned to special duties associated with telecommunications planning aspects of national defence. During his career Mr Harris was active in the international relationships of the Department and participated in and led Australian delegates to I.T.U. and associated conferences, and to other international organizations. Outside the Department, Mr Harris showed an active interest in professional and scientific bodies such as I.E. Aust., I.R.E. and ANZAAS. His services to Australian telecommunications were recognised in 1972 when he was awarded the rank of Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
John Shaefer Harris & Octavia Blanche Fitzpatrick 
