The Club notes with sadness the passing of John Collins, a significant figure in the establishment of the Brisbane Bears and the growth of Australian football in Queensland.
John played a pivotal role in the successful granting of Queensland’s first AFL licence, acting as a signatory and founding director of the Brisbane Bears in the mid-1980s.
At the time, John was serving as President of the QAFL, where his influence extended nationally through his role as a delegate to the National Football League. His contributions to the game were recognised with the NFL Merit Award in 1987, QAFL Life Membership, and later induction as an inaugural member of the AFLQ Hall of Fame.
After moving from the Aussie Rules breeding ground of Yeronga State School, John began his association with the Hawks as a young teenager in 1953. He continued his junior football with Sandgate, playing in an Under 18 Grand Final in 1957. Following a serious knee injury, John turned his talents to umpiring, serving the game in that capacity for four years.
In his early twenties, John became deeply involved in the administrative side of the Sandgate Football Club, holding the positions of Treasurer (1963–64), Vice President (1965, 1967–69), and President (1971–74, 1976–77). He was one of the Directors who enabled the Club to purchase the Lemke Road site from SANDCO and later build its own facility in 1973. Later that year, John was proudly awarded Life Membership of the Club.
In 1978, John moved into administration at the state level with the QAFL, the governing body of Australian football in Queensland. He served as Treasurer in 1979 and President from 1980 to 1987, while also acting as a delegate to the National Football League. In 1982, John was part of the committee that organised Australian football as a demonstration sport at the Brisbane Commonwealth Games.
A few years later, John played a key role in the successful granting of the first AFL licence in Queensland, acting as a signatory and founding director of the Brisbane Bears (now the Brisbane Lions). In recognition of his service, he was awarded the prestigious NFL Merit Award in 1987 and Life Membership of the QAFL.
After stepping down from the QAFL, John became President of the newly formed North Brisbane Australian Football Club in 1991–92, following the merger of the Sandgate and Windsor-Zillmere clubs.
John later returned to the AFL scene as a researcher involved in selecting the AFLQ Team of the 20th Century in 2003. In 2008, his outstanding contribution to the game was further recognised when he was inducted as one of the original members of the AFLQ Hall of Fame.
A lifelong and staunch supporter of Sandgate, John returned once more to the Club as President from 2008 to 2011. This period oversaw the reopening of the Lemke Road facilities, a project to which John contributed both administratively and financially.
