Kenneth Allan
Born: 31 July 1927
Died: 27 July 2013
KEN Allan played a leading role in shaping the vibrant city Greater Dandenong is today.
The former Dandenong mayor, 85, was farewelled on 4 August at Trinity Uniting Church, Dandenong, where he married wife Isobel 60 years ago in November.
“He left his mark on the community. There’s no doubt about that,” Colin Dickie told the Star.
Mr Dickie was Dandenong’s CEO during Ken’s time on council, from 1981 to 1988.
“He had a lot of time for me, and I had time for him, too,” he said.
“He was a quiet individual, but he was very outgoing during this mayoral year, 1985-86. It brought out his skills, really.
“In every organisation that he got involved in, he always moved to the top position.
He reached the top position in the Masonic Lodge and also became president of the Dandenong Agricultural and Pastoral Society.
Mr Dickie said Ken oversaw the development of Palm Plaza and Dandenong Basketball Stadium.
“But his major achievement was his mayoral year,” he said.
“He moved amongst the community and that was one of the very strong roles of mayor – to bond the community to council and to acknowledge the community organisations, and he did that exceptionally well.
“He was very compassionate, too.
“From his upbringing, he never forgot that people had to struggle.”
Ken was raised in Keysborough.
“Dad used to tell me stories as we drove around Keysborough,” son Ian Allan said.
“One of them was that his grandfather built some of Keysborough’s roads using ironstone hand quarried from one of our paddocks.”
Ken milked cows, cleared land and built sheds by hand, and walked to school bare feet during winter because he wasn’t allowed to get mud on his shoes.
“When he eventually took over the farm, dad took the courageous step of undertaking massive improvements – a dam, irrigation and improved pasture … huge achievements at the time,” Ian said.
“He was a very successful pasturalist. I think he was one of the first to view his pasture as a crop.
“He adopted strip grazing and participated in government pasture trials.
“With irrigation, came hard work and long hours. He and mum shifted irrigation pipes by car light late into the night and early in the morning.
“Dad was one of the first in the region to install a herringbone milking shed.
“It takes courage to adopt such new ideas and is something to be very proud of.”
Ian worked closely with his father on rezoning the family farm in Keysborough.
“The work we and others in the Keysborough landowners group did provided a foundation that allowed others to pick up where we left off,” he said.
“It was an arduous campaign that took many years.”
Ian said Ken was a conscientious councillor, who embraced the communities in his ward.
“As a councillor, he helped shape the Dandenong we see today,” he said.
“He was not known to be a mover and shaker, but was well known for making deliberate, considered and appropriate decisions.
“As mayor, he and Mum got to meet Lady Dianna and Prince Charles.”
But his commitment to the community didn’t stop with the council. He was a Justice of the Peace, Keysborough Primary School committee chairman, long-serving fire brigade member, a Rotarian and more.
Ken had a passion for real estate investment and the stock market, and could hold his own with politicians from all levels of government, planners, lawyers, and stock brokers.
“Few people were privy to exactly how intelligent he was,” Ian said.
Ken was father and father-in-law of Ashley and Joan, Robyn and David, Russell and Heather, Ian and Kelly, grandfather of Rachael, Rebecca, Wesley, Jarod, Luke, Jake, Stephanie and Clementine, and great-grandfather of Madison, Sonny and Jacques.
