Rod Blackmore

Rodney David Blackmore (O.A.M.), born 1935, was the Senior Children's Court Magistrate in NSW, Australia from 1978-1995. Both his father, Cecil Hargreaves Blackmore, and grandfather, Hugh Blackmore, served as NSW magistrates before him.

Rod Blackmore was educated at Summer Hill in opportunity class and then at Fort Street High School (then Fort St Boys High). He gained a Diploma in Law through the Solicitors Admission Board in 1967 and worked in courts admistration since 1951. He was Clerk of Petty Sessions in Camden, New South Wales, Clerk of Petty Sessions and Coroner in Armidale NSW, instructing officer at Central Criminal Court, Clerk of Petty Sessions and chamber magistrate at Campsie NSW, Clerk of Petty Sessions and assistant chamber magistrate at the Central Court of Petty Sessions in Sydney and then chamber magistrate in Sydney. He was commissioned as a stipendiary magistrate in 1970. Blackmore was the Parramatta NSW coroner in 1971 and then the traffic magistrate in Kogarah in 1971-72.

From 1972 to 1977 Blackmore was the circuit magistrate in Maitland NSW. He is perhaps best known for his work with children and adolescents. In 1977 he became special magistrate at Albion Street Children's Court and Senior Children's Court Magistrate in 1988, a position he held until his 1995 retirement.

Blackmore was a founding member of the Homeless Children's Association in 1980 and its president from 1984-1991. In 1995 he became Chairman of the Trustees for the Mangrove Mountain Homeless Persons' Reserve Trust which is now managed by Wesley Mission. An accommodation lodge at the site was named 'Blackmore Lodge' in his honour.

He is also the longest continuous member of T.O.S.A., the Theatre Organ Society of Australia, having joined in March 1960 (within 2 months of the society’s inauguration). He lives with his wife Beth in Sydney. His children are Leigh Blackmore, Kent Blackmore and Melinda Blackmore.

Blackmore was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 1997 for his service to the welfare of children.

Bibliography

*"Education, courts and delinquency" (paper for Delinquency Prevention Through Affective Education Seminar, 1982) in "Delinquency Prevention through affective [i.e. effective] education". Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 1982.
* (paper) in R.D. Blackmore, W. L. Kedwell, Father B. Lucas. "Advocacy in children's courts: five papers presented to the Colleg of Law continuing legal education seminar held at the college in May 1981. Sydney: College of Law Centre for Legal Information and Publciations (Seminar Papers series 84/7).
* "The Children's Court and Community Welfare in NSW". Melbourne, Vic: Longman Cheshire, 1989.
* "Influences in reform of juvenile courts" (essay) in Gale, Fay; Ngaire Naffine and Joy Wundersitz (eds). "Juvenile Justice: debating the Issues". St Leonards, NSW: Allen and Unwin, 1993.
* "Finding History in 200 Years of Child Care". Sydney: Hornsby Shire Historical Society, 1995.
* "Is the Adversary system in the True Interests of Children?" (essay) in Young, Anthony (ed). "The Advocate's Notebook". St Leonards, Sydney: Prospect Publishing, 1997.
* "State Intervention with Children - Two Centuries of History" (essay) in "Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences", Vol 30, No 1 (1998)

Awards

*Medal of the Order of Australia (O.A.M.) For service to the welfare of children through the judicial system and to the community. 1997. [cite web|url= http://itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=882339&search_type=quick&showInd=true
title= It's an Honour
accessdate= 2008-09-06
publisher= Commonwealth of Australia
quote= FOR SERVICE TO THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN THROUGH THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM AND TO THE COMMUNITY. OAM S191 1997]

References

*The Hon. Virginia Chadwick. "Mr Rodney Blackmore, Senior Children's Court Magistrate". Speech delivered to NSW Legislative Council, (Legislative Council Hansard, 24 Oct 1995).

External links

* [http://www.theatreorgansaust.info/ Rod Blackmore's Australasian Theatre Organs]