Career
During his early career, he worked aboard the Loch Lincolnshire, which operated between Britain and Australia. He then joined a Melbourne shipping company, and worked the Australia-India trade. From 1913-1914, Blair served as Chief Officer aboard the SY Aurora, under John King Davis, during the final Antarctic voyage of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE).
He later became Chief Executive Officer of Pangbourne Nautical College.
The Blair Islands, in Commonwealth Bay in Antarctica, were named after him by AAE Commander Douglas Mawson.