Remembering Ben Lake

Dribbling a ball up and down the courts at Broadmeadow Stadium each week, dressed in the red and white colours of his beloved Lakers Basketball Club, Ben Lake was, in his mind, invincible.

The pint-sized point guard from Floraville was not only fast, but full of energy.

It’s no surprise that members of his home club referred to him as a “pocket rocket”.

Much younger than all of his four sisters, the cheeky brown-eyed boy became the first in his family to discover a love of basketball.

Aside from his schooling at Belmont High, riding his bicycle around the family’s acreage, and memorising bible versus to impress his parents, Ben loved shooting hoops.

And, while he might not have been the boy taking home MVP titles, or featuring in the lists of highest point scorers, there’s no doubt his love for the game was infectious.

Ben’s sportsmanship and never-give-up attitude inspired everyone around him.

Riddled with allergies, asthma and eczema, when Ben set foot on a court nothing else mattered.

One of his sisters even bestowed upon him a nickname featuring his favourite pastime.

‘Benjamin Steven John Harold Wilred Air Jordan Norm Lake’ was what his then-19 year-old sister Naomi called him.

It was an extension of the name that featured on his birth certificate, his dad’s name, the street on which he lived, a reference to his cheeky character, and the sport he adored.

It was a nickname as busy as the boy who would forever be three weeks shy of turning 13.

A Life Cut Short

On Sunday, 2nd October, 1994, Ben, his father Steven, mother Caroline, and sister Judith were lost at sea.

The flight they had boarded at Newcastle’s Williamtown Airport, tragically never made it to its destination – Lord Howe Island.

A series of errors would be blamed for what has become a watershed crash, studied by aviation students for years to come.

For the Lake family it was a day that ripped them in half, on a day of the week traditionally reserved for whole-family gatherings.

News reports claim a little after midday, eight passengers, including honeymooners, winemakers from Hunter Valley, and four members of the Lake family, boarded the ill-fated single-pilot Aero Commander 690 aircraft operated by Seaview Air.

Half an hour into the flight the plane’s 25-year-old pilot made a mayday call: ‘I’ve lost it, Clive, I’ve lost it’, as the aircraft descended at high speed into the ocean. 

Little was found of the wreckage.

October 2024 marks 30 years since the tragedy.

Ben Lake’s sister, Dr Naomi Richards, will be in attendance at the annual awards event to present the trophy to this year’s winner.

She is hoping Ben’s legacy will continue well into the club’s future, with Ben’s love of basketball celebrated by his beloved Lakers.

The Ben Lake Memorial Award

Established in 2015, the Lakers’ Basketball Club Ben Lake Memorial Award recognises a deserving U14 Boys player who embodies the heart and soul of the game, with a passion for competition, sportsmanship, and a never-give-up attitude that inspires everyone around them in the same way that Ben did.

Thirty Years on

On Wednesday, 2nd October 2024, Ben Lake’s surviving family gathered to mark 30 years since the tragic accident that robbed them of half of their brood.

• Written by Rebecca Riddle