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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-07-11 Daily Xml
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HANK, MR BOB

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT (Lee) (15:22): I would like to pay tribute to the late, great Bob Hank. Bob passed away on 14 June. Not only was he a great footballer (and I will go into some of those details in a moment) but also he was a great human being, a great South Australian and a great Australian. As I said, he passed away on 14 June, and I was fortunate, along with about a thousand other people, to attend his service at Football Park on 21 June.

His career is legendary. He played 224 games for West Torrens. He was captain of West Torrens from 1947 to 1955. He played in premiership teams in 1945 and 1953. He played 29 state games for South Australia. He was also captain on a number of occasions for his state team. He was a dual Magarey Medallist in 1946 and 1947. He was nine times best and fairest winner for West Torrens. These are figures that you just do not hear these days.

He coached West Torrens in 1951. He was an All Australian in 1950 and 1953. He was a Player Life Member of the South Australian National Football League and also a member of the AFL Hall of Fame. He really did it all. Those statistics are something that he and his family were extremely proud of. I know that in the West Torrens Football Club—and also now at Woodville West Torrens (the Eagles)—his name is legendary. In fact, he became the No. 1 ticketholder for the Eagles in 1999 until his death.

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson: And kissed my mother.

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: And kissed Mrs Atkinson. He will be very well remembered not only for his football feats but also for the way in which he conducted himself as a human being. Invariably he was at the Crows and Port Adelaide matches. He used always to be very easygoing, great to have a chat with and he certainly became a friend of mine. He lived at West Lakes and was a constituent in the electorate of Lee, and he was certainly very generous in the time that he made available to talk football and, for that matter, any other matter. Barry, one of his sons, said:

He will be forever remembered and never forgotten as a champion sportsman in football, cricket and golf, and a true gentleman in life.

We all know about his football career, but he was also a very good cricket player. Incidentally, he clean-bowled Sir Donald Bradman and, when he would tell the story, he would finish by saying, 'Bradman was 207 at the time.' He was also a very good golf player. I think he had four holes in one and was captain of his golf club.

As Barry said, he was a true gentleman in life. Never was a fairer word said about someone—he was a true gentleman. Everyone respected him and everyone is obviously saddened by his passing. I extend my sympathies to his wife, Audrey, his children, his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren. Bob Hank will be sorely missed.

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