Researching Robert Coombs

Coombs joined the Australian Merchant Navy in the 1970s, working for six years on BHP vessels sailing out of Newcastle. He joined the Maritime Union of Australia, and eventually rose to become the Sydney Branch Secretary of the Union, then its National President. He also became an Executive Member of Unions NSW. He resigned those roles upon being elected to Parliament.

Coombs supports the role of education for the Australian Aboriginal community, was the chairperson of Tranby Aboriginal College.

Coombs was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in March 2007 for the electorate of Swansea.

Coombs was the Caucus chairman. He was also a member of the Committee on the Independent Commission Against Corruption and a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters.

At the March 2011 State Election, Coombs was defeated in the seat of Swansea, after suffering in the statewide landslide defeat of the Labor Party. Coombs lost to the Liberals' Garry Edwards after just one term in parliament, becoming the first Labor member to be defeated by any other political party in Swansea.

He is married to the current member for Swansea Yasmin Catley, and they have three daughters.

Coombs was a tall left-arm orthodox spin bowler and a tail-end right-handed batsman. Educated at Exeter University, he had played Minor Counties cricket for Dorset and second eleven cricket for Hampshire before arriving at Somerset in 1985. Brought into the first-team late in an unexpectedly poor season for the county side, Coombs made an immediate impact, taking the first five Middlesex wickets to fall in a rain-ruined match at Weston-super-Mare at a cost of 58 runs. In a soggy end to the 1985 season, Coombs bowled in only three further first-class innings spread across three rain-affected matches, but he took 11 further wickets in those and his 16 wickets at an average of 16.75 put him at the top of Somerset's bowling for the season. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack noted approvingly his "good bowling action and attacking bent". More frequent games in 1986, however, brought little success and the bowling figures from his first match remained the best of his short first-class career. In 1987, he was back playing Minor Counties cricket for Dorset and remained there until 1990. He did not play any List A cricket.