Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a thief who specializes in stealing lead from the roofs of houses and other buildings; thus bluey-hunting, the occupation.

1851		Reading Mercury 17 May 4/7: The ‘bluey hunters’ or juvenile purloiners of lead.
1851		‘Adventures of Mr and Mrs Sandboys’ in Bells New Wkly Messenger 9 Mar. 6/2: I may mention [...] bluey-hunting, or pilfering metal and especially lead from the tops of houses; and cat and kitten hunting, or abstracting pewter quart and pint-pots.
1856		H. Mayhew Great World of London I 46: ‘Bluey-hunters,’ who take lead from the tops of houses.
1861		H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor IV 26/: ‘Bluey-Hunters,’ or those who purloin lead from the tops of houses.
1870		Buckingham Advertiser 15 Jan. 4/3: The far greater number [...] were of inferior magnitude, such as ‘bluey-hunters,’ ‘snide pitchers’ and ordinary ‘prigs’.
1882		Sydney Sl. Dict. (2 edn) 1: Bluey Hunters - Those who steal lead from roofs.
1888		Morpeth Herald 27 Oct. 5/3: He proceded to give a description oif [...] Bluey Hunters, who went on to house tops and stole lead.
1935		A.J. Pollock Und. Speaks 10/2: Bluey pigeon, a thief who robs unoccupied houses of fixtures and movable materials.