Obituary from "The Mercury" Hobart, Tasmania, Sat 10 Feb 1906 Page 8 (via http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12794031 on 5/7/2017)
OBITUARY.
MR. F. A. BLACKMAN.
It will be learned with regret by many people in Southern Tasmania that Mr. F. A. Blackman passed away at his residence, The Haven, Bulimba, Queensland, on January 18. The deceased gentleman for many years resided in Hobart, and was highly respected by a large circle of friends. He did not take an active part in public affairs here, except that for the greater part of his sojourn in Hobart he associated himself with the Southern Tasmanian Agicultural and Pastoral Society, and proved himself a very useful member of the committee. His extensive knowledge of pastoral matters was always at the service of the society, and proved invaluable. He was owner of Warroo and Barron-park stations in Queensland and, speaking of his demise, the Brisbane "Courier"

says - "Mr. Blackman's father was Mr John Blackman, a London merchant who came to Australia in 1834 with the intention of engaging in pastoral pursuits but, being no doubt, deterred by the many disabilities that squatters endured in those days, he finally settled in Sydney, and entered business as an auctioneer and land agent. F. A. Blackman was born in Sydney on August 8, 1835, and was consequently in his 71st year when he died. A few years after his father's death which took place in 1846, he came to Queensland with an elder brother named Robert, and the two joined the late Mr. William. Landsborough in his work of exploration. After a short time, the brothers took up country in the Port Curtis district and formed a station, which they named Warroo after a mountain in the vicinity which the blacks knew by that name. They had stock on the run for a short time before they secured a title but their license to occupy was granted in 1855. In 1861 the brothers dissolved partnership, Robert taking the sheep and founding a station called Rookwood, in the Leichhardt district, while F. A. Blackman remained at Warroo with the cattle. One of his (comparatively speaking) near neighbours and lifelong friends was the Hon. Albert Norton, now of Brisbane, but at that time owner of Rodds Bay station, Port Curtis. During his lengthy residence in the bush Mr. Blackman took a keen interest matters of natural history, and besides forming an interesting collection of his own, he forwarded numerous specimens to the naturalist, Mr. Krefft, to the Sydney and other museums, and was looked upon as a valued contributor. Among other qualifications Mr. Blackman had no mean skill as a mechanic, and one of his inventions - namely the lever bail, is almost universally used on stations for branding and other

purposes. About 1874 Mr. Blackman removed with his wife and family of ten children, to Hobart, with the view of giving the children the advantage of a change of climate, as well as facilities for education. During the six years he was in Tasmania he lived at Sandy Bay, where two more children were born, completing a family of seven sons and five daughters, all of whom survive him. In 1881 Mr. Blackman returned to Queensland, and and took up his

residence at the Hamilton, in which locality he has resided almost continuously up to the time of his death. About 1882 Mr. Blackman thought it advisable to acquire Barwon-park station in the Leichardt district from Mr. Wilkinson,

and he stocked the property with cattle removed from Warroo, where the numbers had fully overtaken the carrying capacity of the run. After the severe drought of 1902 Warroo was sold, but Mr. F. Blackman still owns the original homestead at Waroo. After coming to Brisbane to reside, Mr. Blackman took a keen interest in everything that tended to the advancement of the pastoral interest, and with this object was instrumental in founding the Queensland Stockbreeders and Graziers Association, an institution with which he was closely associated as hon. secretary and treasurer until a few years ago, when his health compelled him to give the work up. In connection with the treatment of diseases in stock, Mr. Blackman was in constant correspondence with the Pasteur Institute, and through the press he disseminated valuable information from that source. A record of his mechanical ability is to be seen it the Brisbane Museum where there is an exact model of the stockyard at Waroo, built absolutely to scale, with every mortise and tenon exactly in accord with the original. "The Viper", a species of hypodermic syringe, made specially suitable for the rough usage of the stockyard, was also invented by him, and has been used largely in Australia and South Africa for the purposes ot inoculation. Besides his skill as a mechanic, Mr. Blackman contributed freely to the newspapers on current topics of the day, and in addition wrote several stories which were published in serial form in some of the Southern papers. He also wrote a book entitled "Adventures in Queensland," under the nom de-plumo of 'Australia,'

the first edition of which sold right out, inducing Mr. Blackman to publish a second edition. His cheery good-nature endeared him to all who had the pleasure of meeting him, and his death has severed a link with the past that cannot be repaired."