Malcolm Penn, South Australia's first blind lawyer, works with wife Rosemary in many areas to help disabled
Adelaide University sport president David Penn, one of Rosemary and Malcolm Penn's two sons (the other Phil), led The Blacks university team in the 2018 Adelaide City-Bay Fun Run with its nominated charity Guide Dogs SA/NT. Top right: Malcolm Penn, the university's first blind law graduate and an active athlete, carrying the 2000 Sydney Olympics torch relay with his guide dog Vinty. Bottom right: Rosemary Penn broadcasting on radio station 5RPH (radio for the print handicappped). in 2001
Images courtesy Adelaide University and Guide Dogs South Australia/Northern Territory
Malcolm Penn in the 1960s become the first blind person to graduate in law from Adelaide University. As a lawyer, Penn was passionate about rights for the vision impaired. He worked with premier Don Dunstan to draft legislation allowing access rights to public places for guide dogs (and assistance dogs) in South Australia.
With his wife Rosemary, Penn made a other major advances in the life of South Australia’s blind community through avenues ranging from guide dogs to cricket to radio to scholarships.
Malcolm Penn lost his sight as a child at a settlement on the Indian-Pacific railway line, near the South Australia-Western Australian border, where his father worked as a fettler on the line. His was blinded in one eye from an accident during a railway line families’ social gathering. Due to the remoteness from medical assistance, he experienced sympathetic ophthalmia and lost sight in both eyes. Penn was in the Adelaide Children’s Hospital for many months while his mother found jobs to support them.
Penn turned the experience into a lifetime of achievement. He completed three Adelaide marathons and several City-Bay fun runs with the help of sighted guides. He also took part in the Sydney Olympics torch relay with his guide dog Vinty.
Penn became a pioneer of Guide Dogs as a (life) member of Prospect Enfield Apex Club, He had his own first guide dog accompany him in the 1960s while on campus at Adelaide University towards the end of studies to become the first blind person to graduate in law from Adelaide University. While doing extra external law studies, Penn met his future wife Rosemary who had filled in for her cousin’s husband who was part of a team reading textbooks to him. Rosemary had arrived as a “£10 pom” from the United Kingdom to visit her cousin in 1966.
Rosemany and Malcolm Penn were married in England in 1969 and later had two sons. Also in 1969, Malcolm Penn became a founding member, later treasurer and president, of the South Australian Blind Cricket Club. Rosemary Penn also became deeply involved in the club, taking many roles including scoring for more than 500 games. They organised three national blind cricket carnivals – later national cricket inclusion championships. Malcolm Penn was life governor of the Australian Blind Cricket Council. Rosemary Penn received a medal from Cricket Australia for services to cricket. In 1996, the Penns were part of the Australian delegation to India to unify the blind cricket laws, leading to the first blind cricket world cup.
Rosemary Penn volunteered for blind services through Guide Dogs South Australia (a life member) and as a founder of radio station 5RPH (radio for the print handicapped) 1197, reading and presenting programmes for more than 30 years, with Malcolm Penn also a guest presenter.
From 1985, Malcolm and Rosemary Penn, with sons Phil and David worked to set up the Sir Charles Bright Scholarship, in honor of the former South Australian supreme court judge who worked in his public and private life for the disabled and disadvantaged. The scholarship helped students with disabilities through tertiary education.
Rosemary received a medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1999 for services to people with disabilities followed by Malcolm Penn with the same honour Australia in 2003 for service to visually impaired people, particularly in cricket and education.
