Harry Blade

I want you to dance on my grave - Harry Blade, 1988.

Obituary

This page is dedicated to the memory of St Kilda punk legend, Harry Blade (c. 1971-1998).

It seems that nobody knew his real name, when Harry Blade came to this world, nor when he left - but for those who knew him, he left an indelible mark. This page exits so that there is one place in this world to acknowledge that Blade ever existed at all.
 
Blade was a punk, and anarchist and a St Kilda street urchin. Blade is best remembered form his warm character, droll wit, army khakis and hatred of yuppies. 

In 1989, after being told to leave St Kilda Town Hall for wearing a mask and carrying a black flag, he decided that he would run for local council to stop the gentrification of the suburb and solve "the yuppie problem". His policies included: covering St Kilda with a nuclear proof plastic dome with its own oxzone layer to keep out the rain, declaring St Kilda a separate nation, the eviction of all real estate agents, the legalisation of prostitution and drugs, and the extermination of yuppies with "death squads". Despite not being old enough to vote or stand for council, his irreverence did draw media attention to homelessness in St Kilda.

At one stage, Blade also became the unofficial spokesperson of the Public Television Liberation Army and Community TV - what would later become Channel 31 in Victoria.

Blade was also an abused child, beaten by his step father, and forced to live on the streets of St Kilda, in squats, brotherhood bins and on the couches of benevolent friends and acquaintances. Blade was also illiterate, and never really stood a chance.

Although Blade must have once had a mother, or family, it is not known who they are or where they are from. 

I hope you found a good home in the next life Blade becasue God knows you deserved one here.

Random memories of Blade

On his 18th birthday, I made Blade a cake. I remember my surprise seeing him cry. He told me that I was the first person who had ever made him a cake, and this gesture moved hi to tears. How heartbreaking it was to learn that this kid had never known the love of a family.

Charnwood Crescent St Kilda

Blade once lived at the Charnwood Crescent squat, St Kilda, in the mid-1980s

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