Harry Crock and his identical brother (the ophthalmologist) were born and educated in Perth, Australia. Harry Crock had the good fortune, as a young orthopedic trainee in 1954, to have met, and been influenced by, Joseph Barr (Mixter WJ, Barr JS: Rupture of the Intervertebral Disc with Involvement of the Spinal Canal, NEJM 211:210, 1934) when he was visiting Melbourne. He also had the good fortune to have been provided with a discerning nature which allowed him to appreciate that not all back problems were related to “herniated discs.” This, for its time, represented heretical thinking. Few heretics end up being appreciated by their peers. Harry Crock is an exception to this and he was deservedly esteemed to be the leading spine surgeon in Australia (i.e. Order of Australia in 1984) because of his many contributions. His interest in anatomical studies, particularly those on the blood supply of the skeleton and spinal cord, have aided in bringing to the forefront the body anatomy so often ignored in the past. His anatomic descriptions and technologic advances in instrumentation and surgical technique have benefited colleagues and patients in many ways. The gamut of his interests have had wide range and have included important, but obscure, studies on subjects such as adhesive arachnoiditis ossificans. His publications on spinal surgery have not just been directed to technique but also on making spine surgery safer for the patient.