Applications close 1 November
The J.N. Hobbs Memorial Medal complements other awards made by BirdLife Australia (including the D.L. Serventy Medal and the BirdLife Australia Distinguished Service Award), honouring the contributions of individuals to ornithology.
The Hobbs Medal is awarded to an amateur birdwatcher who has made a significant contribution to the knowledge or conservation of birds in Australia. This is taken to include contributions to Australian ornithology through the organisation of and participation in BirdLife Australia’s collaborative programs.
The emphasis is on the amateur status of the recipient’s contribution.
Nominations are called annually.
John Hobbs (1923–1990) was a policeman in the NSW Police Force who was stationed in various towns across southern and western NSW. His police rounds provided ample opportunity to observe the local birdlife on his beat, and he developed a great enthusiasm for them, keeping copious notes and publishing many papers on their occurrence, behaviour and ecology in journals including The Emu, Australian Bird Watcher, Corella and Australian Birds. His paper ‘Birds of South-West New South Wales’, published in The Emu in 1961, reflects his meticulous record keeping and remains the seminal work on birds in the region. Even after retirement in 1980, he continued his amateur ornithological work, studying the local songbirds of his area. He also contributed hundreds of valuable records of breeding birds to the RAOU Nest Record Scheme.
Apart from being a devout birder in the field, he was a long-time member of the RAOU’s Records Appraisal Committee, from 1975–89, helping to assess the validity of records of rare birds reported around Australia.
John Hobbs was the epitome of an amateur ornithologist, highlighting the importance of amateur observers in our understanding of Australian birds.
Please download and complete the J.N. Hobbs Medal Nomination Form provided below. Once you have finished, please attach it to the submission form located at the bottom of this page.
Nominations should include a written statement (of no more than 500 words), outlining the contributions that the nominee has made to Australian ornithology, supported by a curriculum vitae, a list of all publications and/or achievements, and be nominated by at least two people.
J.N. Hobbs Memorial Medal Nomination Form
The Hobbs Medal is awarded to an amateur birdwatcher who has made a significant contribution to the knowledge or conservation of birds in Australia. This is taken to include contributions to Australian ornithology through the organisation of and participation in BirdLife Australia’s collaborative programs. The emphasis is on the amateur status of the recipient’s contribution.
The Hobbs Medal will only be awarded to living, past and present members of BirdLife Australia (or living, past members of BOCA or Birds Australia). It is possible for two people who have worked closely together in their careers to be awarded the medal simultaneously.
Previous Hobbs Medal awardees include:
Please attach your J.N. Hobbs Memorial Medal Form here. Nominations are to be submitted to the Chair of the Research & Conservation Committee Awards Subcommittee by no later than 1 November. Nominations should include a written statement (of no more than 500 words), outlining the contributions that the nominee has made to Australian ornithology, supported by a curriculum vitae and list of all publications and/or achievements and the names of at least two nominators.
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