Blackman, Philip

BLACKMAN, Philip (1872–1957) was born at “Warro”, Baffle Creek, Queensland, the seventh of eight sons of Frederick Archibald Blackman, a pioneering grazier, and Ellen Lilla Ryder Bell. While retaining his pastoral interests, FA Blackman became a prominent businessman with a residence also in Hamilton, Brisbane. He collected natural history specimens for the Queensland Museum and in 1886, exhibited at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, a detailed model of the Waroo Station’s stockyard, now in the collection of the Queensland Museum. He was inventive, including the lever bail, widely used for cattle branding. From 1874 until 1880, the family lived in Hobart and after their return to Queensland in 1881, at their Hamilton residence. Blackman was educated at JS Hermann Schmidt’s Rock Eden School, Leichhardt Street (later the Brisbane Commercial School) before he was articled to the leading Brisbane architects OAKDEN ADDISON & KEMP. Thereafter he was employed as head assistant to GHM ADDISON until Blackman moved to Rockhampton where he commenced private practice from 1897. From a lack of tender notices he may have been unsuccessful or more likely was employed by another firm. He married Ethel Maud Thorburn at Brisbane in 1900 and later worked for the rest of his career in Sydney. After World War 2 he retired to Mudgee where he was listed as a civil engineer and where he died.