1940-2023
CFC Games 56 CFC Goals 37
The Collingwood Football Club is saddened to announce the passing of 1958 Premiership player Ken Bennett.
Ken was a courageous and talented rover with an eye for goal who came to the club as a 17-year-old after a stellar junior career at Dandenong. He made his senior debut half-way through his first season in 1957 and would go on to play more than 50 games across six seasons. The highlight of his career was undoubtedly the 1958 finals campaign, when he played all three games after being recalled to the team late in the season, and was one of the best players in the historic Grand Final win over Melbourne.
He was a small man, even by the standards of the 1950s, standing just 166cm tall, but that never deterred him from throwing himself into contests. “He was such a gutsy footballer,” former teammate Keith Burns recalled this week. “He wasn’t necessarily a champion but geez he was gutsy. A gutsy footballer and a gutsy fella too.” Burns was, coincidentally, the player dropped in order for Bennett to make his return to the team late in 1958. The two would go on to be great friends for the rest of their lives.
“He was a terrific fella, he really was. He was a great story-teller, a great personality and he could make anyone laugh.” After finishing at Collingwood in 1962, Bennett headed to Albury as captain-coach, and he won the Ovens & Murray League best-and-fairest. A teacher by profession, Ken got into politics and ended up working on the legendary 'It's Time' campaign that propelled Gough Whitlam to the Prime Ministership in 1972. He moved to Canberra in the mid-70s and became the ALP’s assistant national secretary, then later worked as an adviser to senior Ministers in the Hawke/Keating government. He then worked as a political lobbyist before finally running a successful Canberra café.
He moved to Darwin in 2005 to be closer to family, in the wake of his wife Elaine’s cancer diagnosis, and looked after her in her final years. A man with a strong sense of social justice, he subsequently became involved in local government work with remote Indigenous communities, delivering housing and infrastructure improvements, together with general health and wellbeing initiatives. He never lost his links to Collingwood, and at one stage bought the Wadeye football team black and white guernseys.
Ken was seriously injured in a car accident while driving to Weipa in 2009 and suffered life-threatening injuries. But he defied the odds and made a remarkable recovery, though he struggled heroically with the after-effects for the rest of his life. During his rehabilitation, one of his inspirations was to regain enough strength in his legs to climb the 11 stairs at a friend's house to watch the 2010 Grand Final.
He lived out his days in Darwin, where he remained a larger-than-life character and much-loved member of his local community.
Ken Bennett passed away on Friday, September 1. He is survived by his children, Rebecca and Adam (better known as Clem), their partners Jeno and Sam, his grandchildren Felix, Jasper and Ronnie, his brother Les and sister-in-law Carol and a wider extended family.
The Board, management, staff, coaches and players of the Collingwood Football Club wish to record our appreciation for Kenny’s great contribution to our footy club, especially his part in our famous 1958 Premiership win, and also to the wonderful work he did for the community. Our thoughts are with his family, and all his friends from Collingwood, Darwin and beyond.
Side by Side.
To read Kenny’s full story and the stats from his career, check his bio on Forever: here
