Rosemary Anne Balmford (; 15 September 1933 – 8 August 2017) was an Australian judge, barrister, solicitor and legal academic. She was the first female judge of the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprises ...

, and the first female lecturer in the law faculty of the University of Melbourne.

Early life and education

Balmford was born in 1933 in Melbourne. Her parents were Sir John Norris, also a barrister and Supreme Court judge, and Dame Ada Norris (). Her mother taught her to read at the age of three, and she was educated at Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne Church of England Girls' Grammar School, and the University of Melbourne where she resided at Janet Clarke Hall. At Melbourne, she was awarded the Supreme Court Prize in 1954 for achieving the highest examination scores in her year.

Legal career

In 1957, Balmford was appointed the first female lecturer in law at

Melbourne Law School Melbourne Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of the University of Melbourne. Located in Carlton, Victoria, Melbourne Law School is Australia's oldest law school, and offers J.D., LL.M, Ph.D, and LL.D degrees. In 2021-22, THE ...

, the law faculty of the University of Melbourne. She would later write about her academic career in her memoir, ''A Funny Course for a Woman''. She then joined the firm Whiting & Byrne as a solicitor and partner, where she met and married Peter Balmford in 1963. She returned to the University of Melbourne, working at the university's in-house legal department and studying a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. As a member of the

Equal Opportunity Board The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission is a statutory authority in the Australian state of Victoria. It replaced the Equal Opportunity Board , set up by Victorian Premier Dick Hamer Sir Rupert James Hamer, (29 July ...

in the late 1970s, Balmford heard the landmark sex discrimination case ''Wardley v Ansett Transport Industries'', when the board found that

Ansett Airlines Ansett Australia was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne, Australia. The airline flew domestically within Australia and from the 1990s to destinations in Asia. After operating for 65 years, the airline was placed into Adminis ...

' refusal to employ pilot Deborah Wardley was illegal. In 1982, Balmford was appointed as a member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. In 1993, Balmford served as the only woman on the bench of the County Court of Victoria, and in 1996, became the first woman to serve as a judge of the

Ornithology

In addition to her legal career, Balmford was a keen amateur naturalist, with a special interest in ornithology. She was secretary of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union from 1969 to 1972, and wrote several books about Australian birds, including ''A Bird Atlas of the Melbourne Region'' (1978) and ''The Beginner's Guide to Australian Birds'' (1990).

Honours

In 1998, Balmford was conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) by Monash University. In the

2012 Australia Day Honours The 2012 Australia Day Honours were appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2012 by the Governor General of Australia, Quentin Bryce. The Australia ...

, Balmford was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for "service to the judiciary, the practice of law in Victoria, and to the study of ornithology".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balmford, Rosemary 1933 births 2017 deaths Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Australian barristers Australian solicitors Australian women judges Academic staff of the University of Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni University of Melbourne women Australian ornithologists Women ornithologists People educated at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne Members of the Order of Australia Judges of the County Court of Victoria 20th-century Australian judges 21st-century Australian judges People educated at Melbourne Girls Grammar 20th-century women judges 21st-century women judges 20th-century Australian women