Henry Nissen was born in 1948 in a displaced persons camp in Europe to Polish Jewish parents, who had fled and survived the Nazis. Henry and his twin brother Leon were only one year old when they arrived in Australia.

Growing up in Carlton, Henry and his brothers spent some time in children's homes, due to their mother's illness, while their father worked long hours as a tailor to support his children and sick wife.

Henry learnt the art of boxing as a form of self-defence during these childhood years. His boxing skills soon attracted interest, and the exploits of Henry and Leon on the TV show 'Golden Gloves' soon led to Henry establishing a professional career in the sport. He did extremely well in the flyweight division, winning the Australian professional flyweight title after only three pro fights in 1969.

After only nine pro fights he went on to win the Commonwealth flyweight title from the Scottish champion, John McClusky. Known as 'Hammering Henry, the Hustling Hebrew', he went on to win numerous other fights.

His greatest wins came when he defeated the European flyweight champion Fernando Atzori of Italy and, back home in Australia, he came off the canvas to defeat Bat Socrates of the Philippines. Henry held the Commonwealth title from 1971 until defeated by Big Jim West in 1973, and finished his boxing career with 16 wins from 18 fights.

After retirement, Henry decided to hand over his share of the family business “Nissen Jeans Joints” to his brothers and began working with disadvantaged youth and prisoners at Pentridge Prison as well as becoming a child welfare worker at Allambie in Burwood.

Henry also studied Buddhism in India so as to complement his knowledge of Judaism and Christianity and then started working with Brother Alex, a Jesuit priest giving street kids hope and a place to stay at a St. Kilda refuge.

Henry ran the refuge until 1983, when he became a full-time worker for the Open Family Foundation. After almost twenty years service, he retired from Open Family and began work with the Emerald Hill Mission South Melbourne which runs a number of outreach programs and other services for homeless and disadvantaged people in our community, particularly youth.

Henry works mainly with young people, some living on the streets others in disadvantaged home environments, organising places for them to stay, helping them get food, assisting in reconciling them with parents, even representing them in court or acting as a character reference. This help often involves sporting activities. The Henry Nissen Cup is the trophy for the winners of a three-match cricket series between the Emerald Hill and Sacred Heart Missions, named to honor the man who has done so much work for the many disadvantaged people represented by both organisations.

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