Kevin O'Halloran

Kevin O’Halloran was the first Western Australian to win an Olympic gold medal. Back in the middle of 20th century, competitive swimming was not well developed in Western Australia, there were few public pools, and races were held in muddy river pools. O’Halloran grew up in Kojonup, some 40 km west of Katanning, where his family lived on a 9,000-acre sheep farm established by his grandfather in 1900. But after his father enlisted during WW2, O’Halloran’s mother could no longer run the farm and raise the children by herself, so the family moved to Katanning, which was one of the few country towns in Western Australia that had a public swimming pool, where O’Halloran learned to swim.

O’Halloran soon rose to be the best swimmer in the area and was Western Australian junior champion in 110 yds freestyle and 220 yds freestyle in 1952-53 and 110 yds butterfly champion in 1952. Moving up to the senior level, O’Halloran was the Western Australian champion in 110 yds freestyle and 220 yds freestyle in 1954-55 and 440 yds individual medley champion in 1955. In 1955 he also made his début at the Australian championships, finishing fifth in 110 yds freestyle. In late 1955, O’Halloran moved to Sydney in an attempt to qualify to the 1956 Olympics, and was successful. O’Halloran won his only medal at the Australian championships, a bronze in 440 yds freestyle, to earn an individual berth in the 400 free at the Melbourne Olympics, where, after finishing fourth in the 220 yds freestyle trial, he was also included on the Australian 4x200 m freestyle relay team. At the Olympics, O’Halloran first led the Australian relay team as a first leg swimmer to an Olympic gold with a world record of 8:23.6 and then finished fourth in the 400 free final.

O’Halloran’s entire career was hampered by recurring ear infections and he retired from sports after failing to qualify for the Australian 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games team. O’Halloran returned to the family farm in Kojonup, taking over managing the farm from his father in the mid-1960s. In July 1976, O’Halloran’s body was discovered next to his rifle near a fence on his property. The investigation ruled the death accidental, as apparently O’Halloran had tripped as he climbed the fence and accidentally shot himself.