2002 - Des MILNE (South Australia) Hall of Fame Award

Des Milne retired in 1999 at the age of 56 after a long career in court reporting. Des was born on 25 December 1943 and has always lived in South Australia.

After learning Pitman shorthand and typing at Adelaide Technical College, Des began a career in court reporting when he was first appointed to the law courts in 1964 at the age of 23. From there followed a distinguished career, both as a reporter and in management, where he always fought for the best for reporters.

In 1968 Des was appointed to the Supreme Court and in 1971 passed the Victorian Shorthand Writers Licence which was, for reporters, THE exam to pass at the time. After many years as a reporter, in 1985 Des went into management, where his role was primarily the allocation of reporters and ensuring all courts were serviced. From this time onward, court reporting in South Australia undertook a number of major changes, including the replacement of Pitman writers and the taking of voluntary separation packages by a number of reporters.

In 1993, Des was appointed as Manager of the Court Reporting Division, which was the overarching body of court reporting in South Australia, covering the Court Reporters Branch, Audio Recording Branch and also the Magistrates Clerks Branch. During his time in management, Des was responsible for the introduction of CAT, and ultimately the change to Case CATalyst in the mid 1990s. He played a pivotal role in the introduction of on-line reporting to the Court Reporters Branch, which saw court reporters moving forward with technological change.

Des believes he had a good career, attributing much of this to the people he worked with and the general working environment. Of course, over the years there were difficulties but overall reporters enjoyed good times.

In his retirement, Des is enjoying his golfing.

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