University of Newcastle biology professor Barry Boettcher was a key figure in the eventual acquittal of Lindy Chamberlain in the 1980s, but his son Craig said his father was much more to the people who knew him.
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Emeritus Professor Boettcher died two weeks ago at the age of 89. His funeral will be on Friday.
Professor Boettcher, a geneticist and expert in blood grouping, was foundation professor at the Department of Biological Sciences, the first department established at the autonomous University of Newcastle on the Shortland campus in 1972.
In 1982, he gave evidence in defence of Ms Chamberlain after she was accused of murdering her baby daughter, Azaria, while camping at Uluru in 1980.
Professor Boettcher questioned the validity of Crown forensic evidence which pointed to the Chamberlains' car containing Azaria's blood.
Ms Chamberlain was convicted but released from jail four years later as more evidence emerged.
The Supreme Court acquitted her in 1988 after rejecting prosecution evidence related to "blood" being found in the car.
Ms Chamberlain, now Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, called Professor Boettcher's wife of 68 years, Moira, to offer her condolences.
"I think he and we all believed that it was his evidence that got her off," Craig Boettcher told the Newcastle Herald.
"The foetal haemoglobin they said they found in the car was damning, and the fact that he showed it wasn't foetal haemoglobin was the key point."
Craig said his father had been shocked when the first trial jury returned a guilty verdict.
"He really felt like he needed to right an injustice," he said.
"He put a lot of his own time and energy into it and had a lot of sleepless nights. It really weighed heavily on him."
Craig said his father had long been associated with the Chamberlain case, but his passion for addressing injustice had extended well beyond one forensic investigation.
"My dad believed in good science, hated bad science," he said.
"I think it really upset him when he saw bad science potentially disadvantaging anybody.
"To a lot of people he was a wonderfully warm man who saw the best in people and tried to get the best out of people."
Professor Boettcher earned a Harkness scholarship to the United States in 1968 and received the Order of Australia Medal in 1998 for services to biological science, education and reproductive immunology.
Craig said his father had grown up in the suburbs of western Melbourne, where his parents were both hard-working people.
"He didn't like to see anyone taken advantage of.
"If he felt anyone was hard done by, he would take it on himself to help.
"The forensic cases were a part of that."
Professor Boettcher was involved in numerous cases, including the eventual acquittal of Douglas Rendell in 1989 after he served eight years in prison for the murder of his de facto wife in Broken Hill.
Craig said his father had worked as a school teacher in country Victoria but had gone back to university to study reproductive biology after he and Moira struggled to conceive a child.
"He went, 'Right, I'll figure out why this is happening.'
"He was a born teacher. He loved teaching.
"He often said to me he wanted his students to be very capable young people, so he got his students to work quite hard and expected a lot from them.
"He had all the time in the world for anyone who wanted his time."
He had worked in central Australia on blood grouping of Indigenous people, "which eventually led to them being able to have blood transfusions and kidney transplants".
Professor Craig Simmons, pro vice-chancellor at the university's College of Engineering, Science and Environment, said he was "greatly saddened" to hear Professor Boettcher had died.
"Professor Boettcher has a longstanding relationship with our university, our history and our community," he said.
"He was appointed foundation professor of the department and commenced in the role in 1972.
"The story goes that he, together with his family, towed a trailer full of frozen research materials from Adelaide to Newcastle.
"It was the start of a 21-year-long impressive career here at our university."
Professor Simmons said the biology department had become known as one of the best in Australia under Professor Boettcher's guidance.
"Barry was a supervisor, mentor and friend of many at our university, and he will be remembered fondly."
Professor Boettcher's funeral will be at Pettigrews Family Funerals, Belmont, from 12.30pm on Friday.
Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
