John Hobbs

Who was John Hobbs?

John Nelson Hobbs was a British and Australian career police officer and amateur ornithologist. After serving with the Metropolitan Police Force in London, he emigrated to Australia in 1952 and joined the NSW Police Force in which he served until 1980, mainly in country towns across New South Wales, where he made detailed studies of local birdlife. He retired to Dareton in the south-west of the state. He served on the Records Appraisal Committee of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union from 1975 to 1989, as well as contributing prolifically to the RAOU's Nest Record Scheme. He is commemorated by the John Hobbs Medal, awarded annually from 1995 for major contributions to amateur ornithology.