Charley Blair’s country was around Bruthen and he was a Brabralung man. Charley’s parents were Dick Cooper and Mary. Charley died of heart disease in October 1902 aged 58, indicating he was born around 1844. Some time around 1870 Bulmer responded to the request of Robert Brough Smyth for details about the Aboriginal people living on reserves and missions. Bulmer identified Blair as a ‘young man’ of 28 years. This would put Blair’s birth year a little earlier, around 1842 and would accord with him being a young boy when colonists first came to Gunaikurnai country, as Blair described his memory of this to Howitt. Charley’s death was recorded at Lake Tyers, and archival records indicate he lived there for some years, since at least 1870. He lost a son, Charles, in 1889 at only eleven years of age. Charles junior had died of a Cerebral tumor.
Charles provided information about Gunaikurnai cultural practices to Howitt and to John Bulmer for Howitt. Blair also attended the 1884 Jeraeil Howitt was involved with. Howitt and Blair went hunting together on this occasion, returning with possum for the camp to eat. At times informants for Howitt would re-enact situations to show Howitt how things were done, sharing of information was performative as well as verbal. For example, in describing the process of messengers, Blair demonstrated the process of meeting a messenger, who in this instance was depicted by Charley Rivers.
References:
BPA, Twenty-sixth Report of the Board for the Protection of the Aborigines, Robt. S. Brain, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1890, p. 9.
BPA, Thirty-ninth Report of the Board for the Protection of the Aborigines, Robt. S. Brain, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1903, p. 11.
Robert Brough Smyth, The Aborigines of Victoria, vol. 1, John Ferres, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1878, p. 3.
Charley Blair
Found in Transcriptions
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Handwritten notes on Kurnai, Tongaranka, Wolgal, Yuin, Adelaide, Turribul by HowittPages 1Registration Number XM698Author Howitt, Alfred WilliamPhysical Description Draft. Handwritten ink, undated. Four foolscap sheets and a slip of paper; five pages. Condition: foxing. -
Field notebookRegistration Number XM761Author Howitt, Mr Alfred WilliamPhysical Description Notebook, black, hard-covered, undated. Entries in pencil and ink. 120 sheets, 205 pages. Condition: extremely fragile; broken metal clasp; binding coming apart; loose pages; cover is badly worn with sections missing along the spine. -
Information from John Bulmer, n.d.Pages 3Registration Number XM98Author Bulmer, Reverend JohnPhysical Description Notes and a table, handwritten, undated. One large sheet folded in half with an additional smaller sheet, six pages. Notes are possibly a letter. Fragile condition, insect damage upper edging. -
Howitt to Bulmer 18/April/1899Pages 1Registration Number hw0401Author —Physical Description Draft letter handwritten in black ink with pencil annotations. -
Notes on Kurnai 150 pagesPages 84Registration Number hw0404Author Howitt, Alfred WilliamPhysical Description Correspondence and notes.
Also found in
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Bulmer to Howitt April 25 1899Registration Number hw0398Author —Physical Description — -
Bulmer to Howitt 21 March 1904Registration Number XM96Author —Physical Description Letter, handwritten in ink. One sheet, two pages. Parts of the text are 'struck through' with diagonal, black pencilled lines. A post script is on the top of the first page, with provenance and date quarter way down on the right. The letter includes diagrams on both sides. Condition: some loss of paper, and text (both sides), from pest damage top left of front page. The paper is thin and the handwriting from one side is visible from the other making the letter difficult to read.