An Australian representative Ice Hockey player in the 1940s and ‘50s, Geoff Henke’s contribution to Winter Olympic Sport in Australia for more than half-a-century has seen him come to be known as the ‘Godfather of Australian Winter Sports.’
Henke was denied his opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games, but turned to sports administration, paving the way for Olympic dreams to be realised by hundreds of Australian winter athletes.
Born in 1927 in Melbourne, Victoria, Henke played in the Rebel Victorian Ice Hockey League (VIHL) from 1949, winning five premierships with his teams the Golden Bears and the Invincible Raiders.
It was during this time that he met future wife and Olympic figure skater, Gweneth Moloney who competed in Oslo 1952.
Henke and the Australian Ice Hockey team were unable to compete at an Olympic Games although they had offered to pay their own way towards the Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 Games.
Sports Administration
Distraught that he could not realise his Olympic dream, he turned his sights to sports administration in the hope of elevating the profile of Olympic winter sport in Australia.
In 1958, Henke and Gweneth welcomed a daughter, Joanne, who went on to represent her country and the Henke name as an Alpine Skier at the Innsbruck 1976 Olympic Games.
In 1972, Geoff became the first Alpine Director of the Australian Ski Federation, until he was named President in 1983, a role he held until 1989. He was also the Australian representative and Councillor to the Federation International de Ski (FIS) from 1977 until his retirement in 2006.
Olympic Movement
Henke served as Australia’s Chef de Mission to the Winter Olympic Games for two decades from Innsbruck 1976 to Lillehammer 1994, with his belief in his country and its athletes, seeing Australia emerge with 15 Olympic winter medals.
Serving on many Committees, he was made a lifetime member of the AOC in 1992 and became Chairman of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia in 1998.
The same year that he received the International Olympic Committee Olympic Order for outstanding services to the Olympic cause, in particular for his contribution to winter sports in Australia and in 1999, was made an Officer of the Order of Australia.
Henke was the driving force of Melbourne’s original icehouse and was the founder and developer of Dinner Plain, while his role in establishing Falls Creek, Mount Buller and Mount Hotham each earned him life memberships.
Aside from his incomparable mark on winter sport, Henke also played a big part in Australia’s summer Olympic bids as an Executive Board Member of the Melbourne Olympic Bid Committee in 1996 and the successful Sydney Olympic Bid Committee in 2000.
In November 2020, the Geoff Henke Winter Olympic Training Centre opened in Brisbane, honouring the contribution Henke has made to Australian sport.
