Estelle Blackburn
Speaker, Author, Walkley Award Winning Journalist
An investigative journalist and author whose work led to the exoneration of John Button and Darryl Beamish, Australia’s longest-standing overturned convictions. She inspires audiences with her story of courage, perseverance, and transforming injustice.
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Estelle Blackburn is a celebrated investigative journalist, author, and public speaker whose tenacity and courage have fundamentally changed Australia’s justice system. Her groundbreaking work led to the exoneration of John Button and Darryl Beamish, two men wrongfully convicted of murder in the 1960s, setting the record for the longest-standing convictions overturned in Australian history.
A former journalist with The West Australian and the ABC, Estelle gave up full-time work to spend six years researching and writing her best-selling book, Broken Lives (1998), which exposed these historic injustices. Her dedication, with no legal training and little funding, unearthed new evidence that prompted the Attorney General to allow fresh appeals, ultimately securing justice for two innocent men.
For her service to the community through investigative journalism, Estelle was awarded the Order of Australia in 2002. She has also received a Walkley Award, the Perth Press Club Award, WA Woman of the Year, and a Churchill Fellowship, among numerous other accolades. Her story has been featured on Australian Story, 60 Minutes, and Forensic Files.
As a public speaker, Estelle captivates audiences with her presentation “Challenging Justice, Changing Lives,” blending motivation, inspiration, and storytelling to explore wrongful conviction, perseverance, and the power of one person to create change.
