Gallery | Rochester museum honours sporting stalwart

From January 2026 to April 2026, the museum will pay tribute to Mr Knight, a stalwart of local sport.

Mr Knight has been a staple in local sports for many years and currently holds four life memberships for local sporting groups, including the Goulburn Valley Football Club, Rochester Football Club, Rochester Golf Club and the Rochester Bowls Club.

Museum volunteer Hedley Moon said the museum wanted to give Bob his flowers while he was still here.

“He’s done a lot in his life ... him and his family worked for the community for the betterment of the community, and he's been a wonderful man over the years,” he said.

“We thought it was time to honour the Knights ... we wanted to do it while Bob is still around.”

Mr Knight inherited his love for sport from his parents, with his father boasting a successful career in the Bendigo Football League both on and off the field and his mother earning a life membership for the Rochester Football Club for her dedication.

His own football career began in 1956 when he joined the thirds before quickly advancing to the reserves in 1958.

During 1962 and 1963, he took a break from footy to build his house but returned as a regular senior player in 1964 and was named Rochester’s senior best and fairest in 1965.

A decade later, during round six of the 1975 season, Mr Knight played his 200th senior match.

In total, he played more than 250 games in the Goulburn Valley Football League.

In addition to his footy career, he has also been a player, coach, president, secretary and long-standing volunteer at the local footy, cricket, tennis, golf and bowls clubs.

As a lover of all things sport, Mr Knight worked to preserve and celebrate the district's sporting history through co-founding the Rochester Sports Museum.

Mr Moon said Mr Knight was a driving force behind the museum’s inception as he worked with Australian sporting identity John Forbes to bring it to life.

“The first thing we had to do was raise money to get started, so we had a sportsman's night,” he said.

“Johnny Forbes gave Bob quite a few phone numbers of top sports people throughout Australia and Bob would ring him and says I'm Bob Knight from the Rochester Lions Club, but we're looking to have a sportsman's night for Forbesy.

“Bob instigated that night, and we raised $30,000 ... there were 30 top Australian sports people there that night and not one of them charged a cent.”

To acknowledge Mr Knight’s commitment to the world of local sport and his love for his community, the museum has put a range of trophies, medals and memorabilia on display.

The collection of items also includes book excerpts about Mr Knight, photos of him over the years, newspaper clippings and tributes to his community work outside sport.

The Campaspe News was at the opening capturing the moment the exhibition was unveiled by Bob Knight himself surrounded by friends and family.