Keith remembered as "Drouin royalty"

A good journalist with a keen interest in council matters, Baw Baw Shire councillors have remembered Keith Anderson as "Drouin royalty".

Presenting a condolence motion, Cr Ben Lucas described Keith as an "old-school Clark Kent operator; tall, lean, handsome, generally with a newspaper under his arm too, and often with a dart in his mouth".

"I'm going to miss seeing Keith get around the township of Drouin, he was a mainstay there," Cr Lucas said.

He said Keith had many families - his immediate family, military family, Gazette family, footy and cricket families, and Family Hotel family.

Very proud of his family's four generations of military service, Cr Lucas said Keith was conscripted to serve in the Vietnam War and did so with pride, humility and dignity.

With an Australian flag draped over his coffin, he said Keith's funeral was a "very befitting send off for a solider and good Australian".
Cr Danny Goss said he had known Keith for about 20 years, describing him as "a good journo".

Starting and finishing his career at the Gazette, Cr Goss also highlighted his cricketing success.
Recalling many off-the-record coffee chats about council happenings, he said Keith - as a keen sportsman - was particularly keen on the idea of a greenfield site development.

He also shared Keith's social media skills, complete with multiple Facebook accounts and no profile photos.

"He will be very sadly missed by all of us," Cr Goss said. "He was a very community-minded person. Everybody liked him; I never heard a bad word about Keith."

The councillors offered condolences to Keith's family and friends, acknowledging his extensive journalism work within Baw Baw through the Gazette.
Keith, 78, died at his Drouin home on November 24.