HE MAY have been better known for his many ventures far away from here but left more than an impression on the Casterton community as well.
The Reverend Denis McKeeman Oakley OAM, best-remembered for his part in the Casterton Cats’ first Western Border premiership in 1969, passed away earlier this month at the age of 84.
Mick O’Connell, who played alongside him in the game, remembered him fondly as not just a good football player, but a good person.
“He was well liked in town and well-respected,” Mr O’Connell said.
“He enjoyed his footy and he enjoyed the camaraderie and everything … one of the best footballers you’ll see in country football.”
The Reverend’s passion for the game and enjoyment of playing in the Casterton side was no more evident than on the day they played the Hamilton Magpies at Vansittart Park.
His footballing prowess was already proven – he brought to Casterton a strong catalogue of experience with 103 games played at the then-Victorian Football Association’s Sandringham Zebras, in which he scored 432 goals and was the top goal-kicker in both the club and the league on numerous occasions.
In 1969, he was part of a Casterton Cats’ outfit, backed by many WBFL coaches for their “ability to fight back under extreme pressure” and regarded by the Casterton News’ anonymous football writer of the time as “one of the finest teams Casterton has ever fielded”.
Mr O’Connell noted alongside John Gill’s return from the VFL’s Carlton and the club’s other local stars, Rev Oakley’s experience in the VFA went a long way for the team.
“Back then you didn’t buy many footballers – they just came into the town,” he said.
And when the going got tough, with the Cats on the back foot at the first break, Mr O’Connell recounted The Rev putting in effort to hype the team up.
“At quarter time, we were getting well beaten – the coach was going off in the centre of the group at us,” he said.
“I can remember clearly, Denis sneaking around the back of us, saying: ‘This is not us, fellas, this is not us’.
“We came out and we were nearly level with them at half-time (and) went on to win it.”
Rev Oakley’s six goals helped the Cats leave Vansittart Park as victors at 17.13.115 to 13.10.88 and cap off their sensational 1960s era in style.
Mr O’Connell knew his teammate was more than a handy kicker and up to the task of scoring for them, whenever the opportunity presented itself.
“He was a magnificent kick – at the Casterton footy ground here one day, half time came and he’d taken a mark on the cricket pitch,” he said.
“I was playing in the back pocket, the forward right rover bloke said to me, ‘He’s not going to have a shot, we’re walking off’.
“Denis kicked it and it went through the goals post high – it was a massive kick.”
And even though he was a man of the cloth, he was as involved in the post-grand final celebrations as anyone in the side, to the extent he even took advantage of his other role in the Casterton community – that of a minister in the Casterton Methodist Church – to make his joy known.
“When we came down the street, he pulled the bus up – we got to the Methodist Church and he ripped in and he started ringing the bell … let the town know that we won the grand final,” Mr O’Connell said.
“Some of the old Methodist people wondered what the hell was going on – they didn’t think they had church on Saturday night.”
Footballing was in Oakley family – the Reverend’s brother, Ross, played in the then-VFL with St Kilda and served as chief executive of the VFL and then the AFL, while sons Ben and Lachlan followed in his footsteps playing for Sandringham.
Away from Casterton, Rev Oakley dedicated himself to being a voice and carer for young children in need.
Among his many ventures were his directorship of Melbourne’s Tally Ho Boys’ Village and his role as the inaugural chief executive of OzChild – a non-profit organisation supporting children, young people and families throughout the country.
In 2014, he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to children through social welfare organisations.
