George Alfred Davies

George Alfred Davies J.P.

G.A.Davies
Born 1846
Fremantle
Died 31 January 1897
Beaconsfield, Western Australia
Nationality Australian
Spouse(s) Letitia "Letty" Davies (née King)
Children George
Emma Elizabeth
May Elizabeth
Ernest EdgarEthel May
Harold Alfred
Nellie Hannah
Georgina Adeline
Parent(s) Alfred Alexander Davies
Relatives Arthur E. (brother)
Edward William (brother)

George Alfred Davies (1846 – 31 January 1897) was an Australian-born Mayor of his native Fremantle. He was a founding director of the Fremantle Building Society and a Justice of the Peace.[1] He built the Oddfellows Hotel in Fremantle, which became the heritage listed Norfolk Hotel.

Life

George Alfred Davies' grandfather, Alfred George Davies, was said to be one of the first settlers in Fremantle, arriving 19 April 1834 on the Quebec Trader,[2] only a few years after Captain Fremantle claimed West Australia for Britain. His father, Alfred Alexander Davies (1813-1875),[3] was twenty-one when he emigrated with his parents and younger brother, Thomas, to Western Australia. Alfred Davies married twice, and had many children, including: George born in 1846, Edward William Davies born in 1855[4] and Arthur Elvin Davies, born 1866, who was a cabinet maker and an undertaker in Fremantle.[5]

George attended school in Fremantle until he joined his father's business at the age of seventeen. Alfred Davies, between 1849 and 1869, built extensive real estate holdings along some of Fremantle's main streets and operated a pawnbroking business between 1870 and 1874. George formed his own business after working with his father for a decade. Davies sold spirits but he was to become well known for his wine, which he bottled and sold at premises known as the Grosvenor Cellars, in High Street and Bannister Street in Fremantle. The cellars also held bottling equipment, which enabled his business to buy in grapes to supply the demand for his creation.[6] In 1892 Davies was one of only three people who had a colonial wine licence in Fremantle.[7]

In 1875 he married Letitia "Letty" King (1853-1948), with whom he had nine children: George (1872-1940),[8] an unnamed girl (1878-1878), Emma Elizabeth (1879-), Mary Elizabeth (1879-), Ernest Edgar (1884-1914),[9] Ethel May (1888-), Harold Alfred (1893-), Nellie Hannah (1895-) and Georgina Adeline (1897-).

Davies was active in public life and supported the idea of enterprises and facilities in public ownership. He was involved in establishing public baths on the sea front and in ensuring that the more attractive land around Fremantle was not sold off.[6]

The Oddfellows Hotel in 1950

Davies owned a plot of land in 1880, which he rented out, but he appears to have had the land cleared by the time he planned a new hotel building. This building, which opened in 1887, was on the corner of South Terrace and Norfolk Street and was known as the Oddfellow's Hotel. This building is heritage listed and is still standing,[10] and is now known as the Norfolk Hotel.[11]

Davies and his brother Edward[4] were directors of the Fremantle Building Society, which Davies saw as important as it enabled others to establish themselves as property owners.[6]

Davies was elected Mayor of Fremantle in December 1894[12] and was made a Justice of the Peace in March 1895. He is said to have been offered a second term but stood down to allow others to share the honour of being mayor.

Davies died in Fremantle on 31 January 1897[13] and was buried in Fremantle Cemetery.[14][15]

References

  1. ↑ "Government Gazette". Perth Gazette (Perth: National Library of Australia). 18 March 1895. p. 6. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "Davies, Alfred & Eliza". Welcome Wall. WA Museums. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "No Title.". The Herald (Fremantle, WA: National Library of Australia). 20 March 1875. p. 2. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  4. 1 2 Kimberly, Warren Bert (1897). History of West Australia : A Narrative Of Her Past Together With Biographies Of Her Leading Men. Melbourne: Niven & Co. p. George Alfred Davies biography.
  5. ↑ Erickson, Dorothy. "Arthur Elvin Davies". Design & Art Australia Online. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 Wikisource:History of West Australia/George Alfred Davies
  7. ↑ "Fremantle Licensing Court". The West Australian. 7 December 1892. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "Family Notices.". Perth Gazette (Perth: National Library of Australia). 23 July 1940. p. 8. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "Personal Items". Kalgoorlie Miner (WA: National Library of Australia). 1 May 1913. p. 4. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Oddfellow's Hotel". stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "About the Norfolk Hotel". norfolkhotel.com.au. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "Fremantle Municipality". Perth Gazette (Perth: National Library of Australia). 4 December 1894. p. 2. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Family Notices.". Perth Gazette (Perth: National Library of Australia). 1 February 1897. p. 4. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  14. ↑ "Summary Of Record Information: George A Davies". Metropolitan Cemeteries Board. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
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