 Blamey began his working life in 1899 as a trainee school teacher at Lake Albert School. He transferred to South Wagga Public School in 1901, and in 1903 moved to Western Australia, where he taught for three years at Fremantle Boys School. He coached the rifle shooting team of its cadet unit there to a win in the Western Australian Cup. He was raised in the Methodist faith and remained involved with his church. By early 1906 he was a lay preacher, and church leaders in Western Australia offered him an appointment as an associate minister in Carnarvon, Western Australia.
