Vale Ken Dawson

Ken Dawson (Men of League Foundation member no. 27,662) died at the Macquarie Lodge Nursing Home at Arncliffe of advanced dementia at 81 years old. He is survived by his wife Margaret and two daughters Peryn and Amanda.

Ken was an uncompromising front rower with great strength and ball skills. He played his junior football with the Police Boys and Paddington Colts in the Eastern Suburbs Junior League. He was a member of the winning Eastern Suburbs Presidents Cup Side in 1955, which included several players who went on to play first grade and represent.

Ken played first grade with Easter Suburbs in 1956-57 & 1959 (34 games), with Canterbury-Bankstown 1961-1964 (60 games), Lakes United Seagulls, Newcastle (approx. 36 games). In 1958, he played at Blackall in Oueensland, he was Captain Coach where Brian Carlson played for a short period of time. In 1960 he played at Wollongong, where Graeme Langlands first emerged. At Canterbury–Bankstown in 1962, Ken represented for Sydney against the visiting English side, marking Brian McTigue and NSW against Queensland, marking Dud Beattie.

During his time at Canterbury-Bankstown, he played with Brian Davies, Les Johns, Ross Kite, John Greaves, Fred Anderson, Kevin & Colin Brown and Clive Gartner. At Eastern Suburbs, he played with Jack Gibson, Rupert Mudge, Tony Paskins, Brian Allsop, Bob Landers, Bob Heffernan, Dick See, Ron Potter and Terry Fearnley. At Lakes United Seagulls he played with Allan Thomson, who at the time was Captain-Coach.

At the time of his death, Ken was well retired, having worked as a bridge and wharf carpenter for the NSW Maritime Services and then Manager Administrative Services at Garden Island for the Commonwealth. He was popular amongst his workmates and has been much missed by his family and friends.

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