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4.0
‘This is the story of Solomon Blay, a unique man in a unique time in a unique place: Van Diemen’s Land.’
Solomon Blay (20 January 1816 – 20 August 1897) was Her Majesty’s hangman in Van Diemen’s Land between 1840 and 1891. Solomon Blay was born in Oxford where, after convictions for theft, he was convicted of counterfeiting and was sentenced to fourteen years transportation to Van Diemen’s Land. He turned 21 years of age during the voyage. Solomon Blay was 24 years old when he applied for the position as ‘a sheriff’s operator’ and on 3 August 1840, he was approved ‘to be employed as Hangman at Hobart Town’. During his career, Solomon Blay hanged some 200 men and women. He died on 20 August 1897, aged 81, and was buried in a pauper’s grave at Cornelian Bay.
Mr Harris has researched Solomon Blay’s life. He paints a vivid picture of the poverty in which Blay grew up which makes some of his choices more understandable. Why did Blay apply to become the hangman? Simply to survive and to improve his lot in life. But being the hangman had its own difficulties. He frequently had to walk to his jobs because no coachman would carry him. While this book contains information about some of the hangings Solomon Blay conducted, it is the convict-related history which held my attention. Through Mr Harris’s depiction of Solomon Blay’s life, I gained a different perspective of convict life (and death) in my home state of Tasmania.
If you are interested in Tasmania’s penal and colonial history, I recommend this book.
Today, there is a silhouette sculpture of Solomon Blay in a paddock to the side of the Midland (Heritage) Highway in Tasmania, just south of Oatlands. This depicts the path Solomon Blay would have walked from Oatlands to Hobart for hangings.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Solomon Blay (20 January 1816 – 20 August 1897) was Her Majesty’s hangman in Van Diemen’s Land between 1840 and 1891. Solomon Blay was born in Oxford where, after convictions for theft, he was convicted of counterfeiting and was sentenced to fourteen years transportation to Van Diemen’s Land. He turned 21 years of age during the voyage. Solomon Blay was 24 years old when he applied for the position as ‘a sheriff’s operator’ and on 3 August 1840, he was approved ‘to be employed as Hangman at Hobart Town’. During his career, Solomon Blay hanged some 200 men and women. He died on 20 August 1897, aged 81, and was buried in a pauper’s grave at Cornelian Bay.
Mr Harris has researched Solomon Blay’s life. He paints a vivid picture of the poverty in which Blay grew up which makes some of his choices more understandable. Why did Blay apply to become the hangman? Simply to survive and to improve his lot in life. But being the hangman had its own difficulties. He frequently had to walk to his jobs because no coachman would carry him. While this book contains information about some of the hangings Solomon Blay conducted, it is the convict-related history which held my attention. Through Mr Harris’s depiction of Solomon Blay’s life, I gained a different perspective of convict life (and death) in my home state of Tasmania.
If you are interested in Tasmania’s penal and colonial history, I recommend this book.
Today, there is a silhouette sculpture of Solomon Blay in a paddock to the side of the Midland (Heritage) Highway in Tasmania, just south of Oatlands. This depicts the path Solomon Blay would have walked from Oatlands to Hobart for hangings.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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