Edward Davies F.S.A.I.A. (12 April 1852 – 2 April 1927) was an architect and arts administrator in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

History

Davies was born in

Newport, Wales Newport ( ) is a city and Principal areas of Wales, county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. The population grew considerably between the 2011 and the 2021 Unit ...

, and emigrated to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

with his parents when quite young. His father Edward was a tanner, and immediately started a tanning business at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

on the banks of the Yarra. He was to follow in his father's business, but was persuaded by Joseph Lambeth to study drawing. He served a five-year apprenticeship with Albert Purchas, a Melbourne architect, then after a few years experience in the building trade joined the Victorian Education Department as a draftsman. In 1876 he joined the South Australian Education Department as a senior draftsman under J. E. Woods. He left the Public Service to work with architect James Cummings, and after winning design competitions for

Clayton Congregational Church Clayton Wesley Uniting Church, formerly Clayton Congregational Church, is a Uniting church, located at 280 Portrush Road, Beulah Park, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The current building with its tall spire was built was built in 1883, a ...

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

and East Adelaide Congregational Church was admitted as a partner. He left Cummings & Davies in 1884 to work on his own, winning contracts for the Commercial Bank and National Mutual Life Association buildings in King William Street and the Savings Bank building in

Currie Street Currie Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map
of the

Hedley Dunn as partner in Flinders Street, partnership dissolved 1888. In 1906 he took his student C. W. Rutt into partnership as Edward Davies & Rutt. He was for six years president of the South Australian Association of Architects.

South Australian Society of Arts Selection and Hanging Committee 1902

He was a keen and accomplished artist in oils and watercolor, and was a member of the short-lived Adelaide Art Circle ( H. P. Gill was its president), then the Adelaide Easel Club and its successor, the

South Australian Society of Arts The South Australian Society of Arts was a society for artists in South Australia, later with a royal warrant renamed The Royal South Australian Society of Arts in 1935. History A meeting of persons interested in the formation of a society for th ...

, of which he served as president from 1921 to 1923. He was vice-president of the South Australian School of Arts. One of his landscapes is held by the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

. Two particular friends were noted artists – James Ashton, with whom he spent a painting holiday every year, and

Paris Nesbit Paris Nesbit, QC (born Edward Pariss Nesbit; 8 August 1852 – 31 March 1927), was an Australian lawyer. Early life and education Nesbit was born at Angaston in South Australia to schoolmaster Edward Planta Nesbit and Ann, ''née'' Paris ...

, who died just a few days before him. He was a founder in 1912 of the Dual Club of Adelaide, and a contributor to its title (E Davies, C. A. Uhrlab, J. Ashton, and H. H. Ling. The aim of the club was to promote both Art and Science, and was still going strong when Davies, the last of the four, died. He was hon. curator of the Adelaide Gallery from 1909 to 1915, and chairman of the Board of Management, Public Art Gallery and Museum of South Australia.McCulloch, Alan ''Encyclopedia of Australian Art'' Hutchinson of London, 1968. McCulloch alone calls him "H. Edward Davies" and gives his year of birth as 1853.

Family

He married Rhoda Catherine Sexton (11 October 1849 – 5 October 1902) on 11 October 1876. Their children included: *Edith Rhoda Davies (24 November 1877 – ) married Albert Victor Hannah *Mabel Davies (29 June 1879 – 12 September 1968), adopted daughter of Charles H. F. Schild, married Frederick Trevenen-Pitt on 23 April 1907, lived at Yankalilla *Frances Maude Davies (28 January 1881 – 7 May 1971) married architect

Louis Laybourne Smith Louis Edouard Laybourne Smith (1 April 1880 – 13 September 1965) was an Australian architect and educator in South Australia. Born in the Adelaide inner-southern suburb of Unley, he became interested in engineering and architecture whil ...

on 9 April 1903, lived at

Millswood Millswood is an inner-southern mainly residential suburb of Adelaide in the City of Unley. It was named after Scotsman Samuel Mills, who arrived in the colony in 1839. Description The suburb is dissected by Goodwood Road, Adelaide, Goodwood Roa ...

. *Clarence Edward Davies (ca.1882 – 2 June 1943), architect, married Amelia "Millie" Opie on 13 February 1917 *Ernest Llewellyn Davies (1884 – 3 February 1955) lived in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

*Percy Hamilton Davies (1 August 1886 – ) moved to Gold Coast, Africa *Stewart Lancelot Davies (27 May 1888 – ) moved to Gold Coast, Africa *Henry "Harry" Durham Davies (7 October 1889 – 3 January 1966) lived in

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, ...

, fought in World War I, awarded DCM, married Eliza Catherine Walker on 3 January 1926. *Olive Davies (26 July 1891 – 9 June 1987) married Leonard Martin on 19 November 1913, lived at Broadway, Glenelg He married again, on 23 December 1903 to Ada Egan (26 February 1862 – 22 September 1924). They had no children together.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Edward 1852 births 1927 deaths South Australian architects Australian landscape painters 19th-century Australian painters 19th-century Australian male artists 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Welsh emigrants to Australia People from Newport, Wales Australian male painters