Bob Bellear

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Bob Bellear
Judge of the District Court of New South Wales
In office
1996–2005
Personal details
Born
Robert William Bellear

(1944-04-17)17 April 1944
Died15 March 2005(2005-03-15) (aged 60)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
CitizenshipAustralian
SpouseKaye Williams
Alma materUNSW (LLB 1978)
ProfessionLawyer

Robert William "Bob" Bellear (17 June 1944 – 15 March 2005) was an Australian social activist, lawyer and judge who was the first Aboriginal Australian judge. He served as a judge of the District Court of New South Wales from 1996 until his death in 2005. He was the brother of Sol Bellear.

Early life

Bellear was born in the far north-east of

Minjerribah (also known as Stradbroke Island) in Queensland. His other grandfather had been blackbirded from the Solomon Islands. Bellear was one of nine children.[1] Rights advocate Sol Bellear was his brother.[2]

He left school early, but could not get a job, a fact which Bellear often attributed to

fitting and turning. He was then able to easily find a job.[1]

For some time Bellear lived in

Aboriginal Legal Service. Bellear was the leader of a campaign to prevent landlords in Redfern from evicting Aboriginal tenants, and his work led to the Whitlam government transferring ownership of The Block to the Aboriginal Housing Corporation.[1]

Legal education and career

Bellear would regularly see the patterns of

New South Wales Police practised against the Aboriginal community in Redfern.[1]

In 1972, Bellear decided that he would study law. He completed his Higher School Certificate studies at Sydney Technical College, and entered a law course at the University of New South Wales. He became only the second Indigenous person to graduate from that university (after Pat O'Shane) when he graduated in 1978. He was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1979. As a barrister, he represented many Aboriginal people in criminal trials, and was often instructed by the Aboriginal Legal Service. In 1987 Bellear was appointed as an assisting counsel to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.[1]

In 1993 he was awarded an

honorary doctorate of laws by Macquarie University. On 17 May 1996, Bellear was appointed a judge of the District Court of New South Wales, the first Indigenous person to be appointed to any court in Australia. He served as a judge until his death.[4] During this time he mentored young Indigenous lawyers, and encouraged students to attend his courtroom. He did not try to remain in Sydney, instead preferring the rural circuit, where he could visit Aboriginal communities in regional centres, and bring students into his courtroom.[1]

Personal life

In his later life, Bellear was diagnosed with

Che Guevara T-shirt. He was survived by his wife, two children Joanne and Kali (a third son, Malu died in his early twenties in 1996) and four grandchildren. The Government of New South Wales granted Bellear a state funeral, held at the Sydney Town Hall. It was attended by about 2000 guests, including Governor of New South Wales Marie Bashir and former Chief Justice of New South Wales Laurence Street.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Manning, Peter (17 March 2005). "From the depths to the heights". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Beacon for Aboriginal justice". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 March 2005. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  3. ^ Bellear, Bob. "How the Aboriginal Housing Project was born". Gooriweb History Website. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  4. ^
    SBS News. 22 March 2005. Archived from the original
    on 6 October 2016.
  5. ^ Presenter: Mark Colvin; Reporter: Marie Scoutas (22 March 2005). "First Aboriginal judge farewelled". PM. ABC Local Radio.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bob_Bellear&oldid=1219944025"