John Birley Abernethy[1] (born 1947 in Wagga Wagga, Australia) is a former State Coroner of New South Wales.
His Honour Magistrate John Abernethy | |
|---|---|
| State Coroner of New South Wales | |
| In office 2000–2007 | |
| Appointed by | Bob Debus |
| Preceded by | Derrick Hand |
| Succeeded by | Mary Jerram |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wagga Wagga |
| Profession | Coroner, Magistrate |
Early life and education
editJohn Birley Abernethy was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales in 1947.[2] His father, Robert Neil Abernethy,[3] was a bank officer; and his mother was a registered nurse.[2] He has a younger sister, Myra who suffered from an illness which resulted in the family's relocating from rural New South Wales to Epping, a northern suburb of Sydney.[2]
Abernethy attended Epping Public School and Epping Boys' High School.[2] He completed the Leaving Certificate with strong results, allowing him to matriculate to university.[2] In his final year of high school, he was elected a prefect of the school.[2]
Abernethy earned a Graduate Diploma in Law, by correspondence, from the Bar Admission Board via the Law Extension Committee of the University of Sydney (BAB; now Legal Profession Admission Board (LPAB)).[4]
Career
editAfter leaving high school, In 1965, Abernethy joined the (then) Petty Sessions Branch of the New South Wales Department of Attorney General and Justice,[2][5] where he worked until he became a Stipendiary Magistrate in 1984.[2] For three years after his appointment as a Stipendiary Magistrate, Abernethy sat as a Relieving Magistrate and, later, as a Magistrate at Fairfield and Parramatta Local Courts.[2]
In 1975, Abernethy was admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales as a Barrister-at-Law.[5]
Magisterial career
editIn 1971, Abernethy was appointed Coroner for the State of New South Wales.[5]
In 1984, Abernethy was appointed a Stipendiary Magistrate for New South Wales; a year later, he was appointed a Magistrate for New South Wales under the Local Courts Act 1982 (NSW),[5] as a Magistrate of the Local Court of New South Wales.[2]
Coronial career
editIn 1994, Abernethy was appointed New South Wales Deputy State Coroner; in 1996, he was appointed New South Wales Senior Deputy State Coroner; and, in 2000, he was appointed State Coroner of New South Wales.[2][5] During his tenure as State Coroner, his office oversaw the inquest into the death of Vanessa Anderson; the inquest itself was presided over by Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich.[6]
Abernethy presided over the inquest into the death of Tegan Lane, the daughter of Australian water polo player Keli Lane.[7]
Post-retirement
editFollowing his retirement, Abernethy has commented on the car pursuits by the New South Wales Police Force, arguing in favour of them to prevent the escape of criminals.[8]
Legal issues
editIn 2005, Abernethy was detected to have exceeded the legal speed limit of 40 km/h while driving in a school zone, resulting in the suspension of his driver's licence.[9]
Personal life
editAlthough born to and raised in a Presbyterian family, Abernethy left the church as a young man.[2] In later life, he converted to Roman Catholicism.[2]
Abernethy lives in West Pennant Hills, New South Wales.[3]
References
edit- ^ Local Court of New South Wales. (2006.) Local Court of New South Wales Annual Review 2006 Archived 21 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Phillip William Hughes. (2007.) Opening Doors to the Future: Stories of Prominent Australians and the Influence of Teachers, Australian Council for Educational Research.
- ^ a b Abernethy, John (19 February 2009). "Re: annie abernethy – australia". Genealogy.com.
- ^ John Abernethy. (2002.) The Statutory Functions of the Coroner, The New South Wales Bar Association.
- ^ a b c d e Abernethy, John (2004). "Report by the NSW State Coroner into Deaths in Custody/Police Operations". State Coroner's Office, NSW Department of Attorney General.
- ^ Alexandra Smith, Natasha Wallace, Malcolm Brown, and AAP (24 January 2008). "How system fatally failed Vanessa". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Minus, Jodie (15 December 2010). "Coroner not surprised mother found guilty of murdering Tegan Lane". The Australian.
- ^ Arlington, Kim (4 January 2010). "Former coroner defends police over car pursuits". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media.
- ^ Munro, Catharine (16 April 2006). "Coroner lost his driver's licence for speeding in school zone". The Sun-Herald.