Rob Moodie (lawyer)

One of 10 children, Moodie was born in Dunedin in 1938.{{cite news | title=He was the cop in a frock | date=7 January 1997 | work=The Dominion | page=11 | first=Warren | last=Barton}} He was made a ward of the state following his father's death from tuberculosis and grew up in a boys' home from the age of seven.{{cite news | title=Forget about the skirt, this is no ordinary Joe | date=10 May 2008 | work=Dominion Post | page=10 | first=Emily | last=Watt}} He was fostered by the Clyne family living near Oamaru and attended Waitaki Boys' High School. However, he did not do well at school and left aged 15. He worked as a freezing worker and a fencing contractor before deciding to join the police when he was 19.

Moodie joined the New Zealand Police in 1959 and served as a detective in Wellington, rising to the rank of inspector. He then studied law at Victoria University of Wellington, graduating with first-class honours and subsequently completed a PhD in 1976.{{cite web| url=http://www.policeassn.org.nz/about-us/structure/life-members/robert-rob-moodie| title=Robert (Rob) Alexander Moodie| publisher=New Zealand Police Association}}{{cite thesis |last=Moodie |first=Robert |year=1976 |type=Doctoral thesis |title=Wagering and Gaming Contracts in New Zealand |publisher=Open Access Repository Victoria University of Wellington, Victoria University of Wellington |doi=10.26686/wgtn.16958557 |url=https://openaccess.wgtn.ac.nz/articles/thesis/Wagering_and_Gaming_Contracts_in_New_Zealand/16958557/1|doi-access=free }}

From 1976 to 1986, he was secretary of the New Zealand Police Association and was awarded life membership in 1987.

Moodie acted for Keith and Margaret Berryman, whose farm was the scene of a bridge collapse that killed a visiting beekeeper in 1994. The Te Rata Bridge had been designed and built by the New Zealand Army, which disputed claims that the collapse was caused by poor design and construction and argued that the Berrymans were responsible for the collapse. Moodie lost the case in 2008 on nearly all points except a single paragraph of the coroner's report, which the High Court quashed.{{cite news | title=Understanding Rob | date=27 June 2009 | work=Dominion Post | page=7 | first=Mary | last=Longmore}}

Moodie was elected mayor of Manawatu in 1995 and served one term.{{cite news | title=Who is Rob Moodie? | date=25 July 2006 | work=Dominion Post | page=1 | first=Lane | last=Nichols}} At the 1998 local-body elections, he stood for the mayoralties of both Manawatu District and Palmerston North, finishing third in Manawatu and 13th in Palmerston North.{{cite news | title=District didn't like message – Moodie | date=12 October 1998 | work=Manawatu Evening Standard | page=5 | first=Lee | last=Matthews}}

At the 2002 general election, Moodie was the United Future candidate for the Wellington Central electorate and was ranked 40th on the party list. He gained 938 votes to finish in fifth position in Wellington Central{{cite web |url=http://electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2002/electorate-58.html |title=Official count results – Wellington Central |date=10 August 2002 |publisher=New Zealand Ministry of Justice |accessdate=30 March 2014}} and his list placing was too low for him to be elected.

In 2005, Moodie again stood for United Future, this time in the Rangitikei electorate. He came in fourth, polling 718 votes.{{cite web |url=http://electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2005/electorate-44.html |title=Official count results – Rangitikei |date=1 October 2005 |publisher=New Zealand Ministry of Justice |accessdate=30 March 2014}} He was not included on United Future's party list.{{cite news | url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10342103 | title=Lawyer Rob Moodie to stand for United Future | date=23 August 2005 | work=New Zealand Herald | accessdate=30 March 2005}}

A married heterosexual with three children, Moodie has said that he has a "strong female gender bias" and has always preferred women's clothes. He began wearing kaftans publicly in 1981 while secretary of the Police Association, as a statement about the macho culture of the New Zealand Police at the time.{{cite web |url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/28887/cross-dressers-rob-moodie-as-miss-alice |title=Cross-dressers: Rob Moodie as Miss Alice |date=16 November 2012 |website=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |accessdate=30 March 2014 |first=Johanna |last=Schmidt}}

In 2006, he wore women's clothing when appearing at the High Court in Wellington facing contempt charges arising from his release of a suppressed report during the Berryman case. He said that his attire was a "gender-bending protest against the male-dominated corruption of New Zealand's judicial system". He wore an Alice in Wonderland outfit before the Court of Appeal and officially changed his name to Miss Alice.{{cite news | url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10406977 | title= Lawyer Rob Moodie officially becomes Miss Alice | date=21 October 2006 | work=New Zealand Herald | accessdate=30 March 2014}}

Moodie began farming and breeding pedigree Angora and Boer goats on a property near Karori in Wellington in 1979. He later spent six years running a goat quarantine farm near Feilding.{{cite news | title=From gumboots to gowns | date=10 May 2005 | work=Manawatu Evening Standard | page=9 | first=Jill | last=Galloway}}

A 52-minute documentary made about Moodie in 2009, titled Lost in Wonderland, was directed by Zoe McIntosh and produced by Costa Botes. It won awards for best cinematography and best popular documentary at the 2010 Qantas Film and Television Awards.{{cite web |url=http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/now-showing/lost-in-wonderland/ |title=Lost in Wonderland |date=2013 |publisher=New Zealand Film Archive |accessdate=30 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330082036/http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/now-showing/lost-in-wonderland/ |archivedate=30 March 2014 |df=dmy-all }}

{{reflist}}

• {{Vimeo|id=5435840|title=Lost in Wonderland trailer}}
• [http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22690959 Cartoon by Murray Webb of Moodie, 2005]
• [http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/28887/cross-dressers-rob-moodie-as-miss-alice Cartoon by Murray Webb of Moodie as Miss Alice, 2007] [https://teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/28887/cross-dressers-rob-moodie-as-miss-alice (Archived 10 Feb 2019)]
• [http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22683172 Cartoon by Tom Scott of Moodie after the Berrymans won their legal battle over the Te Rata Bridge collapse, 2008]

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{{s-bef | before = Caryll Clausen}}

{{s-ttl | title = Mayor of Manawatu | years=1995–1998}}

{{s-aft | after = Audrey Severinsen}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Moodie, Rob}}

Category:1938 births

Category:Living people

Category:Politicians from Dunedin

Category:People educated at Waitaki Boys' High School

Category:New Zealand police officers

Category:20th-century New Zealand farmers

Category:Lawyers from Dunedin

Category:Victoria University of Wellington alumni

Category:Male-to-female cross-dressers

Category:Mayors of Manawatu

Category:United Future politicians

Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 2002 New Zealand general election

Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 2005 New Zealand general election