Lionel Robberds

In addition to having international success as a rowing coxswain and a squash player, Lionel Robberds was also a skilled lawyer who served on the bar in New South Wales. Robberds’ potential as a coxswain was spotted when he was only nine-years-old. When he was eleven he had become the coxswain of the New South Wales women’s four, which won six Interstate Championships in the 1950s (1951–53, 1955–57). He soon moved up to represent Australia at international competitions, which saw him win gold in the coxed fours at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver. Four years later the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Cardiff, with Robberds winning silver in the eight and bronze in the coxed fours. He then sat as the coxswain for the coxed fours at the 1960 Roma Olympics where the Australian crew finished fifth in the final.

Alongside his rowing career Robberds also played squash, taking up the sport in the early 1960s. By 1970 he was ranked as one of the top-five players in New South Wales. Three years later he was selected to represent Australia at the World Team Squash Championships in Johannesburg where they won the gold medal. In 1973 the World Team Squash Championships were held in England with Robberds being part of the team that finished third. After his playing career he began to coach his nieces and nephews, Brett, Rodney, and Michelle Martin. Michelle was ranked sixth in the world before her uncle began coaching her, with her reaching and holding the world number one spot from March 1993 to October 1996.

Outside of sport Robberds studied law with him earning a degree at the University of Sydney in 1962. By 1966 he had been admitted to the New South Wales bar before being appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1982. He worked on several high-profile cases during his career including investment fraud, corruption, and murder trials. In 2016 Robberds was awarded with the Order of Australia for his services to law.