Rod Blackmore
Encyclopedia
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 administration from 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 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 is also a former President (and currently Activities Director) of the Probus Club of Hornsby. 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.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
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
Fort Street High School
Fort Street High School is a co-educational, academically selective, public high school currently located at Petersham, an inner western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
(then Fort St Boys High). He gained a Diploma in Law through the Solicitors Admission Board in 1967 and worked in courts administration from 1951. He was Clerk of Petty Sessions in Camden, New South Wales
Camden, New South Wales
-Education:Camden is the location of research facilities for the veterinary and agricultural schools of the University of Sydney. The local government area has two public high schools, Camden High School and Elderslie High School, as well as eight Catholic and three Anglican schools.-Culture:The...
, Clerk of Petty Sessions and Coroner in Armidale NSW, instructing officer at Central Criminal Court, Clerk of Petty Sessions and chamber magistrate at Campsie
Campsie, New South Wales
Campsie is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Campsie is located 13 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, on the southern bank of the Cooks River. Campsie is the commercial and administrative centre of the City of...
NSW, Clerk of Petty Sessions and assistant chamber magistrate at the Central Court of Petty Sessions in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and then chamber magistrate in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He was commissioned as a stipendiary magistrate in 1970. Blackmore was the Parramatta
City of Parramatta
The City of Parramatta is a Local Government Area in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.Initially in 1861 it was formed as Municipality of 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
Maitland
Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" , or it may be a locational reference to Mautalant, a place in Pontorson, France...
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
Wesley Mission
Wesley Mission is a name used by several Uniting Church congregations which are a part the Uniting Missions Network of UnitingCare Australia. Wesley Missions grew out of the inner city missions of the pre-union Methodist Church of Australasia...
. An accommodation lodge at the site was named 'Blackmore Lodge' in his honour.
He is 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 is also a former President (and currently Activities Director) of the Probus Club of Hornsby. He lives with his wife Beth in Sydney. His children are Leigh Blackmore
Leigh Blackmore
Leigh David Blackmore is an Australian horror writer, critic, editor, occultist and musician. He served as the second President of the Australian Horror Writers Association . His work has been nominated twice for the Ditmar Award, once for fiction and once for criticism...
, Kent Blackmore and Melinda Blackmore.
Blackmore was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 1997 for his service to the welfare of children.
Selected 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 College of Law continuing legal education seminar held at the college in May 1981. Sydney: College of Law Centre for Legal Information and Publications (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)
- "'The Warragul Opening"'. TOSA News (May 2008) (Re: the opening of the Wurlitzer Theatre organ at the Wesley Centre, Warragul, Vic, Australia).
- " Noted Sydney Theatre Had Unique Theatre Organ". TOSA News (April 2011). (Re: the theatre organ of the Crystal Palace Theatre, Sydney).
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.