Botanist at Sydney Botanic Gardens. William Blakely was born at Tenterfield, New South Wales, and enjoyed a rural upbringing. In 1898 he was employed at the Jenolan Caves, where he became interested in the local flora and made collections. These came to the attention of J.H. Maiden at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, who recruited Blakely in 1900 as a gardener. He remained in this position until 1913, when he was transferred to the National Herbarium as a botanical assistant; a position that would see him through to his retirement in 1940.

Blakely developed as a systematic botanist under Maiden, whom he assisted with his oeuvre on Eucalyptus. Blakely was so enthusiastic about the genus himself that he privately published a Key to the Eucalypts (1934), the only single volume publication at that time to describe all the species in the genus. Posthumous new editions of the key were published in 1955 and 1965. He also published a revision of the Loranthaceae family and built up an expert knowledge of Acacia, too. In addition, he wrote many articles on weeds for the N.S.W. Agricultural Gazette. On his retirement he was asked to accept the position of Honorary Custodian of the Eucalyptus collection at the National Herbarium. He died a year after his retirement, at Hornsby, New South Wales.

Sources:
R.H. Anderson, 1941, "Obituary: William Faris Blakely", Australian Journal of Science, 1941: 53-54
N. Hall, 1978, Botanists of the Eucalypts: 21.