Harold Newton also known as JOHN NUGENT-HAYWARD
John Nugent-Hayward’s real name was Harold Newton. He came to Australia in the 1920’s, with a background of Sandhurst, service in World War I, medical studies at London University, and a brief trading venture in Algeria. His family was musical, with his father a conductor, who had his son taught violin, clarinet and piano at an early age. Under his stage name he was recognised as one of Australia’s leading radio actors. Not only was radio extending music, news and information to the population, but cinema audience were also hearing for the first time the actors voices both in dramas and musicals. These two media had a profound effect on entertainment and the tyranny of distance for people living far and wide.
With the advent of sound with motion pictures, there was a great impact on the many professional musicians who supported the silent movies. Much unemployment resulted in this field until Harold Newton, formed the Perth Symphony Orchestra in 1928. His brother Percy Newton was also a founder of the orchestra. Percy was the first principal clarinet from 1928 until 1946. He taught the next principal clarinet player, Alan Rule, as well as Jack Harrison. Alan Rule and Jack Harrison taught the current principal clarinet of WASO, Allan Meyer.
By 1930, the orchestra was providing subscription concerts in the Town Hall. Many of these were broadcast by the radio station 6WF. Harold conducted the Perth Symphony Orchestra for six years, whilst seeing its members increase from 37 to 70. He joined 6WF as an announcer and first violin, and took on the mixed bag of duties then expected of a radio man – writing scripts and plays, acting, and running the children’s session. In those early days he was known as Harold (“Duffie”) Newton.
For many years he was thought of as Western Australia’s only film star, being a featured player in the 1946 Australian epic “Overlanders,” which stared Chips Rafferty (as Dan McAlpine), John Nugent Hayward (as Bill Parsons) and Daphne Campbell (as Mary Parsons) – when fear of a Japanese invasion in Australia causes cattlemen to push their herds overland from one side of the country to the other. Earlier he had appeared in a short film entitled South West Pacific, that was made in 1943, and a range of other shorts.
Nugent-Hayward then went on to star as the first Dr. Neil Gordon in the ABC serial by Gwen Meredith called “Blue Hills.” This rural saga ran from 1949 to 1976. It notched up 5795 episodes. [1]
[1] https://watvhistory.com/2015/05/celebrating-radio-tv-theatre-and-cinema-history-at-wa-day-service/