Alfred Davidson (1812–1881) was an English pottery owner and commission agent in Australia. He was a
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
Christian, a
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
Pioneer of Compassion (humanitarian) and the Queensland representative of the British
.
Life
Davidson was born in
Siston
Siston (pronounced "sizeton") is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England. It is east of Bristol at the confluence of the two sources of the Siston Brook, a tributary of the River Avon. The village consists of a number of cottages a ...
parish,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
on 21 June 1812, and he died in New Farm,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
on 7 November 1881, aged 69. He was son of the landed proprietor of Warmley House, George Madgwick Davidson and his wife Elisabeth Francis.
Following the death of his wife Phoebe Georgiana Simmonds, Davidson, who had been proprietor of the Warmley Tower Potteries in
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
, migrated to Queensland. He arrived at Brisbane on board the ''Light Brigade'' on 18 May 1863 as a 50-year-old widower and single father of three children: two daughters and a son. His motives for migration are not known, but he settled as a commission agent in
Fortitude Valley
Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...
. He spent much of his time engaged in humanitarian aid and Christian (
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
) mission amongst
Melanesians
Melanesians are the predominant and Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia, in an area stretching from New Guinea to the Fiji Islands. Most speak one of the many languages of the Austronesian languages, Austronesian l ...
and Aborigines in Brisbane and
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...
district.
Davidson was outraged at the general attitude towards indigenous people in Queensland, and made a name for himself as an outspoken humanitarian and representative in Queensland of
Exeter Hall
Exeter Hall was a large public meeting place on the north side of the Strand in central London, opposite where the Savoy Hotel now stands. From 1831 until 1907 Exeter Hall was the venue for many great gatherings of activists for various cause ...
and the
in London. Frequently abused by fellow settlers, he continued to argue for the indigenous people and against what he saw as continual abuses of the rights of Islanders and Aboriginal people.
He was characterised by
John Douglas, as "a very excellent man".
Henry Reynolds described him as "a persistent and passionate advocate for justice for the aborigines" and "an unrelenting opponent of the Pacific Island labour trade." "Between September 1869 and his death in 1881", Reynolds wrote, "he scanned the colonial newspapers, wrote letters to them himself as well as to the government, lobbied politicians and governors" and dispatched a total of 36 letters to the London-based
, all on behalf of indigenous people in Queensland.
[Reynolds 1998, p102-3.]
Alfred Davidson, the potter, was grandfather to
Sir Alfred Charles Davidson, once the general manager of the
Bank of New South Wales
The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia. It was established in 1817 in Sydney. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and New Zealand, expanding into Oceania ...
(now
Westpac Bank).
Notes
References
* Ørsted-Jensen: Robert: ''The Right To Live - the Politics of Race and the Troubled Conscience of an Australian Journalist'' (yet unpublished Dr thesis and manuscript) chapters 4 and 6.
*
Reynolds, Henry: ''This Whispering In Our Hearts'', Sydney 1998, chapter 5, p102-5, 108.
External links
Davidson, Alfred— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Alfred
1812 births
1881 deaths
Australian Indigenous rights activists
Australian people of English descent
People from Siston