Kenny The Croc honoured
Local footy stalwart dies
The Shire lost a stalwart of the Port Douglas Crocs last Thursday and the loss is expected to be felt for years to come. Kenneth Leslie Skinner died peacefully in Mossman Hospital.
He was 73. However, Kenneth Skinner was better known as Kenny the Croc, the Port Douglas Crocs mascot for many moons. Kenny would lead out the team in his croc suit and hi-five them onto the ground. He was also a favourite with the kids.
Kenny and kids got along so well he took a personal interest in their sporting future through the Port Douglas Junior Crocs AFL Club. It’s estimated he raised $100,000 or more when he started a regular raffle at the Central Hotel.
“Kenny was a passionate supporter of our junior crocs and continually raised funds to ensure the kids of our community not only played AFL but all types of sport” said Craig Mitchell, the President of the Port Douglas Junior Crocs AFL Club “Kenny was the catalyst and binder that formed the Junior Crocs great relationship with the Central Hotel patrons through our regular Saturday raffle, he was one in a million” said Mr Mitchell.
Kenny was always offering unique suggestions on ways to raise money and was never afraid to put in the hard yards for the club. Dave ‘Double-O’ Evans who knew Kenny well, told Newsport “He was a true gentleman and was always there for anyone who needed a hand” he said.
Double-O also recalls the day someone else got into the croc suit when Kenny couldn’t be there “Kenny knew all the moves and when to get out of the way of players but this day the new bloke wearing the croc suit didn’t step to the side when the opposition team came onto the ground, and they just ran straight through him and dislocated his shoulder, it wouldn’t have happened if Kenny had been in the suit” he said.
Kenny was a great dancer too, his dance moves at the Central Hotel to whatever music was being played live was legendary.
Bright spark
His cousin Terry Grant told Newsport Kenny was a ‘sparky’, an A grade electrician who grew up in the Gippsland area of Victoria “He lived in a lot of places around Australia including Darwin, but a bloke by the name of Christopher Skase built a hotel up here and Kenny was hired to do some of the electrical work, when that finished he just stayed, because like many of us, he fell in love with the place” Mr Grant said. Kenny’s family has confirmed he died of Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer. It was only a freak accident while away with his cousin Terry Grant up near the tip of Cape York, that revealed the worst. “We were walking on a beach when Kenny stepped on a shell which brought about a heal reconstruction and that’s when they discovered he was in trouble,” said Mr Grant. His cousin asked us to mention the cause of death in this article to remind people to have regular skin checks “If Kenny had of had a check-up ten years ago, he could still be alive today, but men and skin checks don’t seem to go together unfortunately” Mr Grant said. Deaths in Australia by Melanoma in men is almost double that of women.
Kenny celebration
Newsport understands there will be a celebration of Kenny the Croc’s life at The Central Hotel, Port Douglas this coming Friday between 2 and 5 pm.
Kenny Skinner will certainly be missed by the community, who have lost a great advocate for all junior sport and a bloody good bloke.
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