Dave Smith
Anglican Priest, born 1962
David Smith (born 17 February 1962), sometimes referred to as "Fighting Father Dave", is an Australian Anglican priest.
Smith is known for his work with at-risk youths, especially in his use of boxing for those with substance abuse problems and anger management issues. He is also a 6th degree black belt and a professional boxer. His progression into martial arts and boxing happened while he was attempting to raise funds for the community in Dulwich Hill, where he was the parish priest.
Smith is also a published author and has taken a very public stance on various human-rights issues, most especially the Israel-Palestine conflict and the Syrian civil war, where he opposes all forms of Western military intervention..
Smith has twice been awarded the Marrickville Citizen of the Year award and was nominated for Australian of the Year in 2004 and 2009. In 2012, he broke the world record for the most continuous rounds of boxing.
Smith ran as a candidate for the United Australia Party in the Division of Grayndler in the 2022 Australian federal electionHe received just 2000 votes. .
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q16194501 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.