Harold Blair AM - Musician (Opera Singer - Vocalist) and Aboriginal
Activist
Harold Blair’s beautiful voice
captured the imagination of the Australian public. His unprecedented
achievement as the nation’s first Aboriginal tenor opened the door for
future generations of Aboriginal artists, and he used his high profile to
demand better treatment for his people. Harold Blair, Aboriginal tenor and activist, was
born at the Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission in Queensland in 1924. Encouraged
by Marjorie Lawrence he studied at the Conservatorium of Music in Melbourne,
and in the United States. In 1949 he married Dorothy Eden, a fellow singing
student at the Conservatorium, and went on to teach there from 1956. He was
a very popular stage performer. Introduction & Education: Blair was born at the Cherbourg Aboriginal Reserve, 5 km from Murgon in Queensland. His mother was Esther Quinn, a teenage Aboriginal woman. His surname, Blair, came from the family that had "adopted" his mother.
He and his mother then went to the Salvation Army Purga
Mission near Ipswich. His mother entered domestic service, leaving Harold,
then aged two, at the mission, where he received an elementary education.
Blair left school at age 16, gaining employment as a farm labourer.
(Source:
Wikipedia) At the age of 17, he was working as a tractor driver at the Fairymead Sugar Mill. (Source: Wikipedia) In 1944 his friend, union leader Harry Green, arranged for him to audition for the Australian soprano Marjorie Lawrence, who was singing in Brisbane. She advised him to study singing seriously. In 1945 he was one of the first Aboriginals to perform on national radio: his appearance on Australia’s Amateur Hour, broadcast from the Lyric Theatre in Brisbane, won him a record number of listeners’ votes. A group of trade unionists, academics and musicians formed a Harold Blair Trust to sponsor his career, but his lack of education precluded his enrolment at the State Conservatorium in Sydney and the University of Melbourne Conservatorium. Eventually, on Margaret Sutherland’s recommendation, Blair was accepted by the Albert Street (‘Melba’) Conservatorium in Melbourne.(Source: Live Performance) He entered the Melba Conservatorium in Melbourne in 1945 and earned a Diploma of Music with honours in 1949 - becoming the first Aboriginal person to achieve a Diploma of Music.
Blair studied at the Juilliard School, New York. While in New York he sang in a church in Harlem, and entered into the community life. He was impressed how people of all races participated at all levels of society. Harold
Blair obtained his Diploma of Teaching. (Source:
ABC Speaking Out) Employment: The novelty value of an Aboriginal opera singer meant that Harold
attracted significant publicity. He began to make public appearances and
perform recitals. He also attracted praise from a visiting American
baritone, Todd Duncan, who invited him to study in the United States.
Experiences & Opportunities: When he returned to Australia he lived in Melbourne and, while continuing his singing career, became an Aboriginal activist, joining the Aborigines Advancement League and the Federal Council of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. (Source: Stolen Generations) In 1956, Harold began teaching part-time at the Melba Conservatorium and released his first and only recording. Despite positive reviews for a local production, Of Mice and Men, the momentum that should have propelled him to international stardom had waned. Increasingly Harold’s focus was on Aboriginal rights. He campaigned alongside other prominent community leaders and was regularly invited to speak on social issues. (Source: Department of Premier & Cabinet) In 1957, when the Victorian government established its Aboriginal Welfare Board, it appointed Blair one of two Aboriginal representatives. He served as a director for the next three years. (Source: Stolen Generations) Upon returning from a year-long tour of Europe with his family in 1958, Harold became an active member of the Aborigines Advancement League.
In the 1964 Victorian state elections, he stood for the Australian Labor Party in a campaign he ran partly on Aboriginal issues: the poor state of their welfare, housing, health and education. He came first in the poll but was defeated when the pre¬ferences of the Democratic Labor Party went to the Liberals. He nonetheless put Aboriginal people onto the political agenda at a time when their plight otherwise attracted little public attention. (Source: Stolen Generations) Following a brief period in South Australia, Harold returned to Victoria and became a music teacher. He taught at schools in Sunshine and Ringwood, earning praise for his “near genius as a choirmaster.” Harold returned to the stage in 1973 for a performance of the Aboriginal opera Dalgerie at the newly opened Sydney Opera House. (Source: Department of Premier & Cabinet)
His work for Aboriginal children In 1962, after years of preparation including fund-raising from personal singing appearances, he founded the Harold Blair Aboriginal Children's Project in Queensland. Since then more than 2,500
children from outback reserves and missions have been given home holidays in
Melbourne. Mr Blair, a former footballer, was a music teacher in the
Victorian "Mr Blair was perhaps best
known by thousands of Australians for his fine tenor voice", he said in
a statement issued in Canberra. "However, it was his work with
Aboriginal children that will be
Honours Blair was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Australia Day Honours of 1976. He died in May 1976.
The Australian Electoral Division of Blair in Queensland, created in 1998, is named after him. (Source: Wikipedia) He was posthumously inducted to the Live Performance Australia Hall of Fame. In addition, each year the Melba Opera Trust awards an Aboriginal student the Harold Blair Opera Scholarship. (Source: Department of Premier & Cabinet)
YouTube Video: Harold Blair with the choir of The Dutch Choral Society - "How Great Thou Art"
Links:
Harold's Timeline Primary Australian Curriculum General Capability: Numeracy Australian Curriculum: Cross Curriculum Priorities: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures Cooperative Learning Activity
1. Divide into pairs. Each pair is to choose one website about Harold to research from those listed above. 2. List all the dates and what happens on those dates in an Excel database. Order them by date. 3. Incorporate all the class results of your research into one document - showing all the dates relating to Harold Blair. 4. Create a timeline of these important dates and add photographs and art work to each event. For example, here is a timeline of bicycle design...
Talent Shows: Let's profile our young Indigenous stars Middle Secondary Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking Australian Curriculum General Capability: ICT Capability Australian Curriculum: Cross Curriculum Priorities: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures Cooperative Learning Activity
Background 1. You and your partner are to use the information from the websites provided to create a new and exciting "Fakebook" site for one of these Australian Talent Show stars using one of the following templates from "3 Awesome Facebook Templates for your class". You can investigate their Facebook sites but they are to be very different.
3. What will you put on your "Fakebook"? What details will you provide about your chosen artist? Share with another pair. What interesting things/ideas did this other pair come up with? 4. With your partner, create an online video advertisement using Biteable encouraging other young Indigenous singers to explore new opportunities.
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