Blair, Harold (1924-1976), was an Aboriginal Australian dramatic tenor and activist. Blair became the first Aboriginal Australian to gain a diploma in music and a worldwide reputation as a singer. In addition to his popularity as a concert singer, Blair was active in promoting the advancement of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. He founded the Aboriginal Children’s Holiday Project, which provided trips to Melbourne for Aboriginal children living in Queensland and New South Wales .
Blair was born about Sept. 13, 1924, at the Cherburg Aboriginal Mission at Murgon, in Queensland. He became a tractor driver at a sugar mill, where cane farmers encouraged him to sing at a local concert when he was 17. The famous Australian singer Marjorie Lawrence also encouraged him. Blair entered a radio talent contest in 1945, winning widespread acclaim. Unions and Brisbane business leaders contributed to the Harold Blair Trust to finance his music studies at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. He also studied in the United States. Blair then sang on radio and television and toured Australia and Europe. Blair died on May 21, 1976.
