Edwin Davy (9 September 1850 – 22 May 1935) was a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player and soldier. A halfback, he was a member of the first national team that toured New South Wales in 1884.

Youth and rugby career

Edwin Davy was born in

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

in 1850 to parents Edwin Davy and Anna Maria Smart. He was a grandson of Captain Lleyson Hopkin Davy of the East India Company. Davy was educated at Wesley College and St John's College in

Auckland 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 ...

. He moved to Wellington where he played for the Athletic club and made his provincial debut for the

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

representative side in 1877. He was selected to tour New South Wales with the first New Zealand national team in 1884, playing three matches.

Military

Davy also had a long and notable career as a military volunteer. He joined the Onehunga Rifle Volunteers as a private in 1871. By 1874 he was captain of the Thames Scottish Rifle Volunteer Cadet Corps. After his move to Wellington in 1877 he served with the Wellington Naval Artillery Volunteers and was sent with that unit to

Parihaka Parihaka is a community in the Taranaki region of New Zealand, located between Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea. In the 1870s and 1880s the settlement, then reputed to be the largest Māori people, Māori village in New Zealand, became the centre ...

to assist government forces in the arrest of

Te Whiti o Rongomai Te Whiti o Rongomai III ( – 18 November 1907) was a Māori people, Māori spiritual leader and founder of the village of Parihaka, in New Zealand's Taranaki Region, Taranaki region. A proponent of nonviolence, Te Whiti established Parihaka ...

and

Tohu Kākahi Tohu Kākahi ( 1828 – 4 February 1907) was a Māori people, Māori leader, a warrior leader in the anti government Hau Hau Movement 1864-66 and later a prophet at Parihaka, who along with Te Whiti o Rongomai organised passive resistance against ...

. in 1886 he transferred to the Petone Naval Artillery Volunteers, becoming lieutenant commander in 1889. Following the amalgamation of the Wellington and Petone units in 1895, Davy was appointed commander of the combined Wellington Naval Artillery Volunteer Brigade. He served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, first with the Fourth Contingent and later, after recovering from enteric fever, with the North Island regiment of the 10th Contingent. He was awarded the Imperial Volunteer Officers' Decoration for long service in March 1902. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he sought to be posted to active service, but was rejected because of his age and instead served as staff adjutant for the Wellington Military District of the National Reserve. Davy died in the Wellington suburb of

Khandallah Khandallah is a suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located northeast of the city centre, on hills overlooking Wellington Harbour. Description The northeastern part of the suburb is dominated by a large area of par ...

in 1935 and his ashes were buried at

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is the second-largest cemetery in New Zealand. It opened in 1891, and is located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it recei ...

. From his debut in 1884 until his death he was the oldest living All Black.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davy, Edwin 1850 births 1935 deaths Burials at Karori Cemetery New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand military personnel of the Second Boer War New Zealand military personnel of World War I New Zealand rugby union players People educated at St John's College, Auckland People educated at Wesley College, Auckland Rugby union players from Taranaki Rugby union scrum-halves Wellington rugby union players