Dick Blair

Dick Blair (born Richard Carl Phillips; 1937 – 9 April 2013), also known as Dickie Blair, was an Aboriginal Australian professional boxer, Christian pastor, and community leader in Sydney, Australia. He became the Australian middleweight boxing champion in 1972, and was later involved in the Aboriginal Housing Committee in Redfern as well as mentorship of young people in the area.

Early life Richard Carl Phillips was born in Fingal Head, in the Tweed Coast region of New South Wales.

Athletic career Phillips became known as Dick Blair during his boxing career, For some time he trained Tony Mundine. His boxing stance was orthodox.

Activism He became a pastor with the local Pentecostal Church in Redfern, when he was known as Pastor Richard Phillips. He co-founded Koori Lighthouse Youth with his wife Yvonne Phillips. (Some sources spell her name as Evonne, but she is mostly referred to as Yvonne, and credited thus for the 2016 documentary Heart of the Fight.)

He lived in Redfern for many years, and continued to be referred to as Dick Blair. In 1973 he was a field officer for South Sydney Community Aid, an Aboriginal advancement group. As a community leader, he was one of the originators of the Redfern Housing Project, which led to the creation of the Aboriginal-run social housing development known as The Block. In April 1973, the federal government under Gough Whitlam provided funding for the development of the project. In 1974 Blair provided input to the Aboriginal Housing Committee. Architect Col James was also on the board of South Sydney Community Aid, and got involved in The Block through Blair.

Phillips featured in the 2016 documentary Heart of the Fight: The Story of Dick Blair, directed by Byron Arellano and Mark Taylor and executive produced by Sri Lankan playwright S Shakthidharan with CuriousWorks. CuriousWorks is a Western Sydney community arts organisation established as a start-up "committed to telling diverse community stories" in 2005 by S. Shakthidharan.

Phillips' son, Shane Phillips, worked with Taylor on the film. Taylor described Blair and his wife Yvonne as "spiritual leader" who "were a pillar of strength for their community through the darkest days of The Block's history. and CEO of a social enterprise for Aboriginal youth called Tribal Warrior.

He spent his later life split between the Tweed Heads region and Sydney, a respected elder. aged 75.

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