And yet, the house has a dark side, harbouring terrible secrets, a violent history and an uncertain future.
As it was, Hartley was sent alone, before the others, never to return to a contest so intense that any side harbouring realistic pretensions of winning it required all hands to pump.
But cricket is played at many levels, and the second and third teams of amateur club sides harbour those whose ability to bowl fast and sprint between the wickets is a memory as distant as having a full head of brown hair.
Fihaki, 26, has agreed to move from New Zealand provincial side North Harbour and will immediately link up with Sale, who are eighth in the league table.
The 23-year-old, the brother of current Saints centre George, joins from New Zealand ITM Cup side North Harbour, where he has spent the last five years.
On the south side, the harbour is enclosed by Hengistbury Head which was the site of the earliest settlement here dating back to the Bronze Age.
Two decades on both sides's harbour distinctly downgraded ambitions with McClaren's hopes of avoiding relegation swiftly receiving the latest in a long line of dents when his team somewhat harshly conceded a penalty.
At the other side of the harbour, on Harbour Parade, visitors will have a chance to join in craft workshops, explore a craft market and watch outdoor performances as part of A Summer Squall.
The Sydney Opera House is situated on Bennelong Point (originally called Cattle Point), a promontory on the south side of the harbour just east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Robert Anderson, commanding officer of the Federal garrison at Charleston, secretly transferred his two weak companies from Fort Moultrie which was located on a peninsula on the east side of the harbour and was untenable against a land attack to Fort Sumter in the mouth of the harbour.
