The Hon. Sir Richard Arthur Blackburn OBE (Mil)

Sir Richard Blackburn served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory from 1966 to 1971.

Justice Blackburn graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Adelaide and Oxford University and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from Oxford University.

Justice Blackburn was a Rhodes Scholar in 1940 and attended Eldon Law School in 1949. He was called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1949 and was admitted to practice as a solicitor in South Australia in 1951.

Justice Blackburn also served in the Australian Imperial Forces from 1940 to 1945 and rose to the rank of Captain.

After his term on the Northern Territory Supreme Court bench, he was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. He was appointed Chief Judge in 1977 and became the first Chief Justice of the Australian Capital Territory in 1982. He also served as a Justice of the Federal Court of Australia from 1977 to 1984.

Justice Blackburn was Chairman of the Law Reform Commission of the Australian Capital Territory from 1971 to 1976, Pro-Chancellor of the Australian National University from 1976 to 1984 and Patron of the St John Council for Australian Capital Territory from 1981 to 1984.

Justice Blackburn was made an Officer of the Military Order of the British Empire in 1965, a Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in 1981 and a Knight Bachelor in 1983.

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