[4] In 2008 a new species of prehistoric armoured lobe-finned fish discovered near Eden, New South Wales by a team of ANU scientists was named Edenopteron keithcrooki, in honour of Keith Crook.
This was in recognition of Crook's discovery of several fossil sites in New South Wales, plus coordinating the mapping of a large area around Eden and Twofold Bay by staff and students of his at the ANU.
[5] In 1955 he was drafted into military service, which crystallized his disquiet on the use of war and violence as political tools, and he subsequently was granted an exemption as a conscientious objector.
In 1963 Crook joined the Australian Labor Party and stood as a candidate in the 1969 Federal election for the seat of Bradfield.
[6][7] Dr Crook served as a long-term scientific policy advisor for the Australian Labor Party, commencing under Gough Whitlam.