Ian Bowditch (9 March 1939 – 25 February 2008) was an Australian fencer. He competed in the team

épée The (, ; ), also rendered as epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains a ...

event at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

. Before this, Ian and his brother Bruce were both awarded full

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

for fencing as members of the

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...

Fencing Club. Bowditch, who trained as a lawyer, helped draft the

Constitution of Nauru The constitution of the Republic of Nauru was adopted following national independence on 31 January 1968. In 2007 there were political debates in progress with a view to amend aspects of the Constitution, owing to the challenge of widely acknow ...

while working as an Australian Government Legal Officer prior to Nauru's independence. He later practiced as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

at the

Victorian Bar The Victorian Bar is the bar association of the Australian State of Victoria. The 2024-2025 President of the Bar is Justin Hannebery KC. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. Those who have been admitted to practice ...

for over 25 years (signing the Victorian Bar Roll on 24 November 1983 and retiring in 2003). He was the father of singer

Clare Bowditch Clare Bowditch (born 1975) is an Australian musician, author, and occasional actress. At the 2020 ABIA (Australian Book Industry Awards) she won ‘Best New Australian Author’ for her best-selling 2019 memoir ''Your Own Kind of Girl''. At ...

References

External links

* 1939 births 2008 deaths Australian male fencers Olympic fencers for Australia Fencers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Place of birth missing 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{Australia-fencing-bio-stub