Richard Arthur Blackburn OBE CStJ (1918 - 1987)

Born 26 Jul 1918 in Mount Lofty, South Australia, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Bryony Helen Carola (Dutton) Blackburn — married 1951 in Anlaby, South Australia, Australia

Descendants

Died 1 Oct 1987 at age 69 in Australian Capital Territory, Australia

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Biography

Dick Blackburn OBE CStJ is Notable.

Sir Richard Arthur Blackburn OBE CStJ was an Australian judge, prominent legal academic and military officer. He became a judge of three courts in Australia, and eventually became chief justice of the Australian Capital Territory. In the 1970s he decided one of Australia's earliest Aboriginal Land rights cases. His service to the Australian legal community is commemorated by the annual Sir Richard Blackburn Memorial lectures in Canberra.

Richard Arthur Blackburn was born on 26th July 1918 at Mount Lofty, South Australia, Australia. He was the eldest child of Arthur Seaforth Blackburn VC and Rose Ada Kelly.^[1] He was named after Rose's younger brother who had died at the age of 16 and he was always known as Dick, as his namesake had been.

Dick was particularly brilliant as a student, finishing school at St Peter's College in 1934 and going on to read Law and Honours English at the University of Adelaide. As he had won several scholarships, Dick moved out from the family home to St Mark's (residential) College during university term time.

Dick finished his Arts degree in December 1939 and was chosen as the Rhodes Scholar for 1940, meaning that he could study at Oxford University in England, however this was deferred due to the Second World War. Dick was a fervent member of the Pacifist Club at Adelaide University at the time, however once war broke out he and most of the other club members joined the armed services.

On 14th May 1940, during the Second World War, Blackburn enlisted with the Australian Army at Adelaide. He served with the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) in active service in North Africa and Papua New Guinea until his discharge on 7th November 1945 as a Captain in the 2/9th Division Cavalry Regiment.^[2]

After the war Dick took up his deferred Rhodes Scholarship and studied at Oxford University in England.

In 1951 Dick married Bryony Helen Dutton (known as Chibs) and they had two children, Charlotte Bryony and Thomas Dutton.

Richard was Patron of the St John Council for Australian Capital Territory from 1981 to 1984. In 1981, he became a Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in honour of his service. He was knighted in the New Years Honours of 1983 for his services to the law. He became Chancellor of the Australian National University in 1984.

Richard Arthur Blackburn passed away on 1st October 1987.^[3] He was survived by his wife Bryony Helen Blackburn (née Dutton, who died in 2005) and children; Charlotte Bryony Calder and Thomas Dutton Blackburn SC.

Sources

1. ↑ South Australia Birth Index #22A/311 1918; registered at Adelaide
2. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: Captain Richard Arthur Blackburn; accessed 11 Mar 2019
3. ↑ The Ryerson Index to death notices and obituaries in Australian newspapers Surname: BLACKBURN, Given Names: Richard Arthur, Notice Type: Death notice, Date: 01OCT1987, Event: Death, Age: , Other Details: at Canberra late of Canberra, Publication: Sydney Morning Herald / Canberra Times, Published: 02OCT1987

See also:

• Wikipedia: Richard Blackburn
• Wikidata: Item Q7324187, en:Wikipedia
• Peeling the Onion - The Story of a Family, by Rosemary Wighton, 1993