David Smith (born 17 February 1962), sometimes referred to as "Fighting Father Dave", is an Australian

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest. Smith is known for his work with at-risk youths, especially in his use of

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

for those with substance abuse problems and

anger management Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully.Schwarts, Gil. July 2006. Anger Management', July 2006 The Office Politic. Men's Health magazine. Emmaus, PA: ...

issues. He is also a 6th degree black belt and a professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. His progression into

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

and boxing happened while he was attempting to raise funds for the community in

Dulwich Hill Dulwich Hill is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 7.5 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Inner West Council. Dulwich Hill stretche ...

, where he was the

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

. Smith is also a published author and has taken a very public stance on various human-rights issues, most especially the

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

occupation and the current war in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

where he opposes all forms of Western military intervention. Smith has been twice awarded the

Marrickville Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local gove ...

Citizen of the Year award and was nominated for

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...

in 2004 and 2009. In 2012, he broke the world record for the most continuous rounds of boxing. In 2020. Smith was required to resign from his parish by his diocese after a marriage breakdown. His ex-wife, Angela Smith stated that he had been having a physical affair with a female Uniting Church Minister for many years and so she had no choice but to leave him. Smith ran as a candidate for the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

in the

Division of Grayndler The Division of Grayndler is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. Grayndler covers most of Sydney's newly formed Inner West Council. The electorate includes the suburbs of Balmain, Birchgrove, Rozelle, Leichhard ...

in the

2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth conse ...

Early life

Smith was born in Newtown,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, in 1962 to Bruce and Joan Smith – the oldest of three boys. His father was a well-known Evangelical Anglican priest,

public speaker Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

and theological lecturer. Smith completed an arts degree with honours in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

in 1984 before beginning studying

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Moore College Moore Theological College, otherwise known simply as Moore College, is the theological training seminary of the Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The president of the Moore Theological College Council is ''ex officio'' t ...

in 1985. He completed two degrees in theology in 1988 and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

a priest in the

Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the R ...

in 1989.

Career

After ordination, Smith spent two years in the parish of Miranda (in Sydney's south) before being appointed to

(in Sydney's inner-west) in December 1990. When Smith became the parish priest in Dulwich Hill it was known as an area that was rife with drugs. In 1991, he began to focus on working with young people with drug problems in the area and opened up the

church hall A church hall or parish hall is a room or building associated with a church, generally for community and charitable use.

as an area where local youth could do fitness and martial arts training. In 1993, he founded the Order of the Fighting Fathers as a way of encouraging other priests and religious people to use the fighting arts to help young people overcome their

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

s and lead fuller lives. Holy Trinity's youth centre went full-time in 1994, with the primary aim of being a safe place for local young people where they were provided with a safe place to be in with

counseling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of co ...

and spiritual input. In 2013, a young client burnt down the centre and this received widespread media coverage. Smith moved the centre to premises provided by the Dulwich Hill

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

. Smith's work in the community led him to twice be awarded the

Citizen of the Year award, in 1997 and 2009. In 2005 and 2009 he was also nominated for

, particularly for his work with young people battling substance abuse. In 2001, a short film was made about Smith, which is titled ''The Good Fight''. Smith has helped to organise numerous peaceful demonstrations, including a protest against the deportation of

Sheikh Mansour Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, منصور بن زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان; born 21 November 1970), often referred to as Sheikh Mansour, is an Emirati politician who is the deputy prime minister of the United Arab ...

Leghaei in 2009. He also marched and spoke at numerous rallies calling for justice for Gaza and

. In 2011, he and Sheikh Mansour planned to launch an Internet radio station on the theme of peaceful inter-faith relations. In 2011, Smith began training in an attempt to break the world record for the longest period of continuous boxing. On 1 April 2012, he boxed continuously for eight hours - against 66 opponents over 120 three-minute rounds. He succeeded in breaking the world record and received extensive media coverage, including from

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

. The previous world record before this attempt was 26 rounds. On 19 February 2016, Smith returned to professional boxing to raise money for youth programs and became Australia's oldest ever professional boxer.

Author

Smith is a published author and in 2020 published ''Christians and Muslims can be Friends]''. Previously he wrote the book ''Sex, the Ring and the Eucharist''. The book is a series of snapshots from Smith's life and is known for its straight talking and honesty and Smith being also critical of the established church and the legal system. Even with the criticism, it has been said that there is a pervading sense of faith and hope running through the book.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Dave Living people 1962 births Australian priests Australian male martial artists Australian male boxers Place of birth missing (living people)