Lionel Robberds AM QC - New Challenge

LIONEL ROBBERDS AM.  QC.
Leichhardt Patron and his start in a new challenge.

Lionel and Sandra have been advised that Lionel is in “post early stages of Alzheimer's Disease”, but will continue to address his future with the same tenacity he has always shown.  We wish both Lionel and Sandra best wishes from the Leichhardt membership and the wider rowing community throughout Australia.

His rowing career commenced in 1948 as a young coxswain. 

By 1950, Professor Frank Cotton of Sydney University, had developed a strong interest in support of athletic physiology and muscle power output as well as a Rowing Machine referred to as an “ergometer”.  His close association with Leichhardt Rowing Club, its coaches and of course, Lionel Robberds, introduced young “heavyweight guinea pigs” to the sport.  An era of well documented State, National and International success followed with Lionel as a national representative coxswain, adding to his other frequent NSW State and Interstate Championship wins.

At the 1954 Empire Games in Vancouver, Canada, he was coxswain of the gold medal coxed Australian Four, ahead of New Zealand and England.

Since 1920, the eight oar championship of Australia (The Kings Cup) has been the premier national rowing event, a competition between all states.  Lionel, as coxswain of the NSW State Championship Men’s heavyweight eight from 1953 to 1955 was heavily involved in the Australian representative selections for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. Although beaten by the Victorian Eight and with members of his crew assigned to coxless events in the selection process, he was not discouraged.

The 1957/58 season again with Lionel as coxswain and with the majority of his crew from Leichhardt they achieved Australian representation at the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff winning a bronze medal behind England and Canada in the coxed fours and a silver medal in the eight oared crew behind Canada.

To the surprise of many in the 1958/59 Rowing Season, Lionel with the Australian single scull champion Steve Roll, actually rowed in the double scull and won the State Championship in that class of boat.

1959 was the last occasion where the Kings Cup was run over three miles.  Lionel, as NSW coxswain of the State Champion Eight took the New South Wales crew to a National win for the first time since 1951.  Following Olympic trials, held both in Penrith NSW and Ballarat Victoria for the 1960 Olympic Australian rowing team, Lionel was the coxswain of the only Australian crew to make a final in Rome. - The Coxed Fours.
 
It was not until 1962 that a full open Australian championship Regatta was first held, involving many more boat classes and rowing classifications.  Lionel’s range of Championship wins and national representation as a coxswain over the period 1951 -1964 will always be considered exceptional and possibly unique.

Lionel continued competition in State Championship events and was chosen to be the coxswain for the State Eight in 1964, achieving a second in the Kings Cup.  His continuing international ambition at age 24 then turned to squash both as player and coach.

Out of the boat, he was a member of the National Crime Authority in 1988, Member of the Legal Profession's Standards Board in 1994 and the Legal Services Tribunal in 1995 following his appointment as a QC in 1982. From his position as Captain of the Leichhardt Rowing Club in 1963 to his appointment as Patron of the Club in 2008, he has given strong support.

His career as a leading Sydney QC, Champion Squash representative and coach, led to Australian AM Honours in 2016.

With thanks to Barry Moynahan OAM, Leichhardt Rowing Club Life Member and Rowing NSW Life Member