Myer E. Rosenblum OAM (10 January 1907 – 18 April 2002) was an Australian sportsman and lawyer. He was born in South Africa to parents who had migrated from present-day

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. His family moved to

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

in 1914, and he was educated at

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Mixed-sex school, co-educational Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective secondary school, secondary day school, located in Petersh ...

and Sydney University. He played four Test matches for the

Australian Rugby Union team The Australia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of Australia. The team first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first test match against the ...

in 1928. He set up a

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

, "M. Rosenblum and Co" in the 1930s; in 1959 he employed as an articled clerk

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

who later became an Australian

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. In his later years he was an active

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at the age of 95.

Early life and education

Before his birth, Rosenblum's family emigrated from what is now Belarus but was then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

to South Africa, where he was born in 1907. The family moved to Australia in 1914, to the inner western Sydney suburb of

Marrickville Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local gove ...

. Myer and sister Sarah both won

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

s to the then non-

co-education Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

al Fort Street Boys and Girls Schools, and then to Sydney University.

Sporting achievements

Rosenblum played at breakaway in four games for the

New South Wales Rugby union team The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state ...

against the All-Blacks in 1928. At the time, the New South Wales Rugby Union was the peak Australian representative body; these games were retrospectively granted full "

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

" status by the

Australian Rugby Union Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named the Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It ...

in 1986. He set an Australian record for the

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

in 1935, and represented Australia in that event at the

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

then "British Empire Games". In addition, he was an accomplished

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player and

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

As lawyer

Rosenblum's legal career has been reported as uneventful except his 1959 decision, as principal of the

M Rosenblum & Co, to employ a 19-year-old called John Howard as an articled clerk at the pay of £6 a week. Howard went on to become the 25th and second-longest serving Prime Minister of Australia More than a decade before his ascent to Prime Ministership, Rosenblum – a lifelong supporter of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

– said Howard "would have made a wonderful Labor leader of the Ben Chifley type – you know, a thoroughly honest man of the people." Howard described Rosenblum as "one of the great characters that I've met in my life... a terrific teacher."

Honours

Rosenblum was awarded

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

on 29 September 2000. He was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the

Australia Day Honours The Australian honours and awards system refers to all Order (distinction), orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarchy of Australia, Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister a ...

of 26 January 2001.

Personal life

Rosenblum was an accomplished

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

and contra-bassoon player and won a scholarship to the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the old ...

. He met New Zealander Lyla Grant at a party listening to classical music. They were married for 55 years until her death in 1992. Daughter Germaine and son Rupert Rosenblum – later himself a

Wallaby A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized Macropodidae, macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same Taxonomy (biology), taxon ...

– were born of their marriage. Myer's only grandchild, Stephen, Germaine's son, followed in his grandfather's footsteps and took up a career in law, as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

.
/ref> In his later life, Rosenblum assisted

Moriah College The Moriah War Memorial College (or more commonly, Moriah College) is an independent Modern Orthodox Jewish co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day school, located in Queens Park, an eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wal ...

, the Australian Jewish Welfare Society and other sporting and charitable organisations. Rosenblum died of a heart attack on 18 April 2002.

References

External links

M Rosenblum & Co at findlaw.com.au

Myer Rosenblum at the Sydney University Athletics Club website

Myer Rosenblum – notable alumnus
of St Andrews College (Australia)
Rosenblum's 1935 Australian Hammer Throw record at www.hammerthrowing.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenblum, Myer 1907 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Australian lawyers Australian male hammer throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 1938 British Empire Games Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Australian people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia Rugby union flankers Jewish Australian sportspeople Jewish South African sportspeople Jewish philanthropists Jewish rugby union players Rugby union players from Sydney Sportspeople from Pretoria South African emigrants to Australia South African rugby union players South African people of Belarusian-Jewish descent 20th-century philanthropists Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Athletes from Sydney