Harold Blair

Harold Blair AM (13 September 1924 – 21 May 1976) was an Australian tenor and Aboriginal activist.

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.

At the age of 17, he was working as a tractor driver at the Fairymead Sugar Mill. Communist trade union organiser Harry Green heard him singing and encouraged him to further his singing. Blair entered a radio amateur hour talent quest in early 1945, and attracted a record tally of listeners' votes. A group of trade unionists, academics and musicians formed a trust to sponsor his career.

He entered the Melba Conservatorium in Melbourne in 1945 and earned a Diploma of Music with honours in 1949. In 1950, Blair was invited to study in the United States by the noted African-American singer Todd Duncan. 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.

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