John Blay

John Charles Blay, born on the 5th October 1944, is an Australian writer and naturalist who has written extensively about the Australian bush and its people in drama, prose and poetry. His work unveiling local landscape has had many consequences including, in 1982, discovering a new species of wattle, Acacia blayana, named in his honour.

Blay was born in Parramatta, NSW, Australia and lived in the inner city of Sydney until 1970 when he moved to a spotted gum forest at Bermagui, on the far south coast of NSW, a move detailed in his memoir, Part of the Scenery. In following years his immersion in the wild forests and understanding of their wildlife led to him receiving the inaugural Parks Writer Award to spend 12 months alone in wilderness areas of the region. This period expanded over the years as his understanding of the south-eastern region grew. He is also interested in using native plants in sustainable gardening, as in The Australian Native Plant Gardener's Almanac.

Since 2001, he has researched the Bundian Way, an ancient Aboriginal pathway, in association with local Aboriginal communities and as the Bundian Way Project Officer for Eden Local Aboriginal Land Council. His researches and bushwalks while investigating this traditional route resulted in its official recognition and NSW Heritage listing in 2012. He is an acknowledged authority on the landscapes and history of south-eastern Australia. His understanding "of the varying country" of the shared history Heritage pathway between the highest part of the Australian continent and the coast is demonstrated in his book, On Track: Searching out the Bundian Way.

Blay's prose focuses on place, bringing together human and physical landscape with historical influences.

Blay's work reflects not only his expertise across literary forms but also his understanding of the human experience. His writings about his bushwalking experience include a spiritual odyssey, and uncover significant history associated with the track, as well as describing the difficulties of long-distance walking.

Blay’s poetry has been published in a variety of anthologies, newspapers and magazines, including:

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