Fred Kirkham (born Frederick Angus Benfield; 5 April 1937 – 25 October 2007) was an Australian

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medal winning

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

and judge.

Early life

Kirkham was born in Leichhardt, New South Wales and attended

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

(1945–1953). During his adolescence he was known as Fred Benfield but reverted to his mother's maiden name as an adult.

Rowing career

Kirkham took up rowing at Newington College in Sydney. His senior rowing was with the

Sydney Rowing Club Sydney Rowing Club is the oldest rowing club in New South Wales, Australia formed in 1870. It has occupied its current site on Port Jackson's Parramatta River at Abbotsford Point since 1874. The club has a focus on its high performance and elite ...

. Benfield Profile at Austn Rowing History
/ref> His first and only state appearance for New South Wales was in the three seat of the senior men's eight which contested and were runners-up for the

King's Cup __NOTOC__ King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nati ...

at the 1956 Australian Interstate Regatta. In 1956 for the

Melbourne Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

the winning

Victorian eight was selected as the Australian men's eight excepting for Kirkham in the three seat from New South Wales. Kirkham rowed in the Australian eight in their Olympic campaign to a thrilling final where the Australian eight took it to the US and Canadian crews and came away with a bronze medal. Benfield at World Rowing
/ref>

Police and legal career

For twenty years Kirkham served as a member of the

New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...

. Kirkham served as a uniformed officer for several years before training to join the NSW Police Drug Squad. After completing his HSC at the age of 30, Kirkham attended night school to complete his law degree. He was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1974 and practiced mainly in the area of personal injury. After 14 years at the Bar he was appointed a Judge of the

District Court of New South Wales The District Court of New South Wales is the intermediate court in the judicial hierarchy of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a trial court and has an appellate jurisdiction. In addition, the Judges of the Court preside over a rang ...

in 1988 where he served until his retirement.

Music career

In 1963, Kirkham co-wrote The Delltones' hit song ''Hangin' Five'' with Ben Acton.

Community activities

He served as President of the Old Newingtonians' Union at the time of its Centenary (1995–1996).Newington Across the Years, A History of Newington College 1863 - 1998 (Syd, 1999) pp 347

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkham, Fred 1937 births 2007 deaths Australian male rowers Australian police officers People educated at Newington College Old Newingtonians' Union presidents Olympic rowers for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Rowers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics 20th-century Australian judges 21st-century Australian judges Rowers from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales