[1] The first president of the Academy was Russell Brereton, a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
[1][2][4] Oscar Rivers Schmalzbach was born in Poland in April 1912 and died in Sydney in January 1997.
He began his tertiary education at the University of Poland but was forced into hiding when Germany invaded and escaped to Britain, serving in the British Army during the war.
In 1949, he migrated to Australia, arriving in Sydney where he was a medical officer at Callan Park Hospital.
In 1963, he became Consultant Psychiatrist with the New South Wales Attorney General's Department and was called upon to give evidence and his opinion in major criminal trials.