Obituaries Australia

Henry Blake, n.d.

from Pastoral Review, 16 September 1922

The death of Mr. Henry Palmer Blake, of Inverell, New South Wales, took place on the 25th of July. Born at Plumstead, Norfolk, England, in 1843, he was in the 80th year of his age.

Arriving in Melbourne in 1860 at the age of 17, he proceeded to the Bendigo goldfields, where he obtained a position as bookkeeper to one of the local business firms, an appointment he held for about eighteen months. He then went to New South Wales as jackaroo with Mr. Pringle, on the Peel River, near Tamworth. After three years of this experience he was appointed manager of Nebea Station, near Coonamble, owned by Mr. J. B. Rundle, a position he held from 1865 to 1873. He was the first man in the district to dispense with the shepherding of sheep and to turn them loose into paddocks.

From 1874 to 1878 he managed Pilliga and Milchomi Stations, on the Namoi, owned by Mr. J. B. Rundle. Later on, in 1879, in conjunction with his brother, Mr. Arthur Palmer Blake, of Blake and Riggall, solicitors, Melbourne, he purchased Coonimbia Station, near Coonamble, N.S.W., and lived there until the property was sold in 1909, when he retired to a small grazing and farming property in the Inverell district.

Mr. Blake was very highly esteemed, and occupied many public positions. He was one of the largest exhibitors of stock in his district, and acted as judge at many of the principal shows in the State.

As a breeder of sheep and horses he was very successful, and was recognised as an authority on all classes of stock.