The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Blair, David
Blair, David, was born in 1820, and came to New South Wales at the instigation of Dr. Lang, in 1850, where he assisted Mr. (now Sir) Henry Parkes in establishing the Empire newspaper in Sydney. In 1852 Mr. Blair settled in Victoria as correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald, and became sub-editor of the Melbourne Argus. In 1854 he was appointed editor of the Age, and advocated the cause of the miners in their opposition to the unpopular digging licences. Mr. Blair was elected to the Assembly for Talbot in 1856, and for Crowlands in 1868. In 1867 he was appointed Secretary to the Royal Commission on Education, and acted in the same capacity to the Penal Commission in 1873. He wrote the first history of Australia in 1878, and in 1881 compiled the "Cyclopaedia of Australasia," a work which displays a minute and comprehensive knowledge of persons and events connected with the pioneer days of the colonies. In 1876 he edited the speeches of Sir Henry Parkes, which he prefaced with an introduction.