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 | |
| Profession | Coroner, Magistrate |
John Birley Abernethy [1] (born 1947 in Wagga Wagga,Australia) is a former State Coroner of New South Wales.
John 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]
After 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]
In 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]
In 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]
Following 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]
In 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]
Although 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]
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