BIO
Wartime competition 1942 - 1944
Norwood-North games: 19
Norwood-North goals: 1
Keith Duke played with Norwood-North in the World War II patriotic competition before playing for Norwood in 1945. But it was his lifetime of service to amateur sport which earned him the Order of Australia Medal in 1988.
Keith John Duke was born at Wangaratta on 3 April 1918. He was a ruckman and key position player with the Payneham Amateur Football Club for 15 years, with stints as captain and coach as well as state representation.
But his great love was the Payneham Cricket Club, where he was a player-administrator for 65 consecutive years - 60 of them as honorary secretary. He played 355 games - including 14 years as A Grade captain - as a batsman and legspinner between 1935-36 and 1971. He was awarded life membership of the Payneham CC and the Adelaide Turf Cricket Association, which he served as a state player and for 40 years as an executive member (half that time as Vice-Chairman).
Keith served the Payneham Sports Association for 20 years. An engineer, he was proud that the Payneham Oval cricket pitch became known as the 'Duke's Highway'.
Keith Duke OAM died in Adelaide on 19 May 2001, aged 83.
P Robins Oct 2014