harvey played his first game aged nine as a wicket-keeper in the north fitzroy central school team, the average age of which was 14. in a school final, he once made 112 of the total of 140. aged twelve, he joined the local fitzroy club and rose to the first grade team when he was fourteen. by this stage he had transferred to collingwood technical school. on the advice of the victorian coach, arthur liddicut, harvey stopped wicket-keeping to focus on his batting. joe plant another fitzroy veteran also gave advice on batting. both liddicut and plant identified harvey's potential as a batsman." what they liked about him was his modesty, his eagerness to pick up every point in the game, and his willingness to listen to the old hands." briefly playing for fitzroy football club, harvey gave up the sport and played baseball during winter. after leaving school, harvey worked as an apprentice fitter and turner for the melbourne city council. the apprenticeship was supposed to take three years, but it eventually took six years because harvey's cricket career caused frequent absences.