Kirkby was educated at Gravel Hill State School, where he was profoundly influenced by the Reverend Herbert Begbie toward the religious life,[1] to the point of becoming a lay reader in 1902.
A devout Evangelical, he was particularly interested in promoting that tradition through the work of the Anglican Church League and similar groups.
At St Philip's Kirkby proved to be quite popular, with his weekday lunchtime services attracting large numbers of people.
In his position as coadjutor he worked to address the financial and social problems the church was having, worsened by the ongoing Great Depression.
He also helped bring the synod through an exhausting session which gave the post to Bishop Howard Mowll of West China, through a skillfully managed effort behind the scenes.
The election of Mowll to the post caused a split among the Evangelicals in the area, which Kirkby, despite his popularity with the people and the clergy and common sense, would prove to be unable to heal.
He was buried in the grounds of his beloved St Philip's and is commemorated in the calendar of the Anglican Church of Australia on 13 July.