Peter John Bennett (11 July 1926 – 4 July 2012) was an Olympian water polo player and

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Bennett was a full forward and topped St Kilda's goal kicking five times, with a best of 59 goals in 1950; however, he never fully recovered from a knee injury sustained in his debut match in 1944 and was among the best players in a poor team. Having already declined a invitation to represent the Australian team in water polo at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

and claimed a gold medal in the sport at the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

in Auckland, in 1952 Bennett took a year off from football in order to take part in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

at Helsinki.Sports Reference - Peter Bennett Biography
/ref> After two more seasons at St Kilda he decided to retire from football to concentrate on water polo, and captained the Australian team at the

1956 Melbourne Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

where they finished ninth. In 2012, he was inducted into the Water Polo Australia Hall of Fame. He was educated at Wesley College and Melbourne High School. He served as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the Australian Army as a teenager during the Second World War. His wife

Marjorie McQuade Marjorie Anne McQuade (16 July 1934 – 10 October 1997), later known by her married name Marjorie Bennett, was a competition swimmer who represented Australia at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. At ...

was an Olympic swimmer for Australia in the 1948 and 1952 games, and a triple gold medallist at the 1950 Empire Games.

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* * 1926 births 2012 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne St Kilda Football Club players Australian male water polo players People educated at Wesley College (Victoria) People educated at Melbourne High School Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Water polo players at the 1950 British Empire Games Olympic water polo players for Australia Water polo players at the 1952 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 1956 Summer Olympics Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia People from Brighton, Victoria Sportsmen from Victoria (state) Military personnel from Melbourne Collegians Football Club players Melbourne High School Old Boys Football Club players {{Australia-waterpolo-bio-stub