Lionel Philip Robberds,
AM,
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
(born 2 April 1939) is an Australian former representative
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...
coxswain, national representative and world champion squash player and a barrister. In rowing he was seven times a national champion who won a gold medal in a coxed four at the
1954 Commonwealth Games
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The ...
; silver and bronze medals at the
1958 Commonwealth Games; and competed at the
1960 Rome Olympics in the
men's coxed four.
In squash he was a member of Australia's 1973 World Champion amateur four man team. As a lawyer his career at the New South Wales bar extended over fifty years. He was appointed a
QC in 1982 and later a senior member of the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Club and state rowing
Robberds was educated at
Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School (”SBHS”), otherwise known as The Sydney High School (“SHS”) or High, is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Single-sex school, single-sex Selective school (New South Wales), academically s ...
though he did not cox at school. His club rowing was from Sydney's
Leichhardt Rowing Club
Leichhardt Rowing Club formed in 1886 is one of the oldest rowing clubs in Sydney, Australia. The clubhouse has occupied sites on Port Jackson's, Iron Cove at Leichhardt, New South Wales, Leichhardt since 1886. Leichhardt is an all-level competiti ...
and from the
Sydney University Boat Club
Sydney University Boat Club is the rowing club in Sydney, Australia with the oldest charter having been formed in 1860 by the founders of the University of Sydney. It has had a boatshed presence in various locations on Sydney Harbour since 1886, ...
.
State selection first came for Robberds a month after he turned twelve in 1951, to cox the New South Wales women's four which contested and won the ULVA Trophy at the Interstate Regatta. For seven consecutive years Robberds coxed the New South Wales women's four and saw victories at the Interstate Regattas of 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956 and 1957. In 1955 he also coxed the New South Wales men's eight in their
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 ...
attempt at the Interstate Regatta. In 1956 and 1957 he again steered both the New South Wales women's four and the men's eight. In both years the four were victors and the eight placed second. For the 1958 Interstate Regatta, Robberds was away with the Australian squad at the Commonwealth Games but in 1959 he was back in the stern of the New South Wales men's eight and steered them to a King's Cup victory
In 1957 aged seventeen and already at university, Robberds coxed the
Sydney University
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...
eight at the 1957 Australian Universities Championships
International representative rowing
For the
1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fi ...
in Vancouver as was customary, that year's winning King's Cup eight - Victoria - were invited to represent as the Australian crew. They declined citing concerns on funding and the racing standard and so a squad was selected which comprised three New South Wales scullers in
Wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
,
Evatt and
Riley and two sweep oarsmen from the New South Wales eight
Geoff Williamson and
David Anderson David Anderson may refer to:
People In academia or science
*David Anderson (academic) (born 1952), American college professor
*David Anderson (engineer) (1880–1953), Scottish civil engineer and lawyer
*David Anderson, 2nd Viscount Waverley (1911 ...
. The squad were able to contest the single and double scull and a pair and coxed four. As the Leichhardt club coxswain of Williamson and Anderson, Robberds aged just fifteen, was selected to cox the four which rowed to a gold medal victory.
Selection racing for the
1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958.
Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...
was conducted in January 1958 and New South Wales oarsmen and combinations dominated. The New South Wales eight was selected in toto to race as the Australian eight and Robberds selected as coxswain. In Cardiff the eight rowed to a silver medal and four of the crew with Robberds in the stern also raced as a coxed four and took a bronze medal.
For the
1960 Rome Olympics the Australian eight was the winning King's Cup West Australian eight. A coxed four was selected as the fourth priority boat and a New South Wales four was picked with Robberds on the rudder. In Rome they made the Olympic final and finished in fifth place.
Squash representative
Robberds took up squash in 1963. By 1970 he was the fifth ranked player in New South Wales and at that year's Australian Championships he beat
Cam Nancarrow
Cam Nancarrow, born 9 April 1945 in Sydney, is a former squash player from Australia, who was one of the game's leading world players in the 1960s and 1970s.
State and national representative career
Nancarrow made the New South Wales men's t ...
the Australian #2 seed. Along with his brother Greg, Lionel Robberds made the New South Wales men's team and he was a part of their legacy when between 1958 and 1973 members of that team won 78 consecutive matches at Australian carnivals. Nancarrow, Ken Hiscoe,
Ted Hamilton
Edward Leslie "Ted" Hamilton ( OAM) (born 1937), is an Australian singer, composer, playwright, entrepreneur, and actor. He is known for playing the Pirate King in '' The Pirate Movie'' and police constable Kevin Dwyer in ''Division 4'' (1969 ...
and others participated in that time in the four men squad. The unbeaten run ended with a loss to Queensland in 1974. In 1973 Robberds was selected in the Australian national men's team which competed and won the
World Men's Team Championship governed by the
World Squash Federation
The World Squash Federation (WSF) is the Sport governing body, international federation for Squash (sport), squash, an indoor racket sport which was formerly called "squash rackets". The WSF is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (I ...
. The next men's world championships were held in England in
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
and again Robberds was selected in the Australian team who competed and placed third overall.
There was a broad family connection with the game of squash. Robberd's nephews
Brett Martin and
Rodney Martin were both world champions though their sister
Michelle Martin
Michelle Susan Martin, OAM (born 29 April 1967) is an Australian former professional squash player who was one of the game's leading players in the 1990s. She was ranked number one in the world from 1993 to 1996 and again in 1998 and 1999, a ...
had the greatest success in the family and she credited Robberds with designing a training programme and providing psychological and tactical support which made the difference to her career. Martin was ranked sixth in the world before Robberds commenced to coach her and she began winning major titles immediately. She spent 44 months from March 1993 to October 1996 as the best women's squash player in the world before Australia's
Sarah Fitz-Gerald
Sarah Elizabeth Fitz-Gerald AM (born 1 December 1968) is an Australian women's squash player who won five World Open titles – 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002. She ranks alongside Janet Morgan, Nicol David, Susan Devoy, Michelle Martin an ...
broke her dominance. Martin returned to the world #1 ranking in 1998 and 1999.
Legal career
Robberds completed a law degree at the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
in 1962. He was admitted to the New South Wales bar in 1966 and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1982. He practised in criminal and commercial law and appeals with specialities in customs prosecutions and commissions of inquiry.
Robberds has appeared as either prosecutor or defence counsel in a number of high-profile trials. He was a prosecuting counsel in the 2005 trial of
Rodney Adler
Rodney Stephen Adler (born 19 August 1959) is an Australian whose family founded the FAI Insurances group, of which he became chief executive in 1989, and which was at one stage Australia's third largest general insurer. Adler became a director of ...
regarding the collapse of
HIH Insurance
HIH Insurance was Australia's second-largest insurance company before it was placed into provisional liquidation on 15 March 2001. The demise of HIH is considered to be the largest corporate collapse in Australia's history, with liquidators est ...
; for Moses Obeid in the 2012 Independent Commission Against Corruption; and for the
Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...
in the 2014 inquiry into the 1995 conviction of
David Harold Eastman for the murder of
AFP Assistant Commissioner
Colin Winchester
Colin Stanley Winchester (18 October 1933 – 10 January 1989) was an assistant commissioner in the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Winchester commanded ACT Police, the community policing component of the AFP responsible for the Australian ...
.
He was a member of the National Crime Authority in 1988, a member of the legal profession's Standards Board in 1994 and a member of the Legal Services Tribunal in 1995. He is a part-time senior member of the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal. In 2016 Robberds was awarded Member of the
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
for significant service to the law.
Robberds Australia Day Honours
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robberds, Lionel
1939 births
Coxswains (rowing)
Living people
Australian male rowers
Olympic rowers for Australia
Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Rowers from Sydney
Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
Rowers at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Rowers at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Australian King's Counsel
Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Sportsmen from New South Wales