Maurice Coleman Davies (24 September 1835 – 10 May 1913) was an Australian timber merchant and pastoralist. Born in London, he emigrated to Tasmania with his family as a child, and later moved to Blackwood in the Victorian goldfields, then to Melbourne and Adelaide. He then relocated to Western Australia, where he created the Davies Company, later the Davies Karri and Jarrah Timber Company, a timber empire that employed hundreds of men, laid over a hundred kilometres of private railway, including the Flinders Bay branch railway, and even built its own private ports for exporting of timber. He also formed the Kimberley Pastoral Company and was its managing director.

Early years

Davies was born in London on 24 September 1835 to John and Catherine Davies (née Hart; 1795–1889). His family migrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

when he was about five years old, and settled in southern

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

as farmers. In 1847, the family moved to

New Norfolk New Norfolk ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#Big River, Leenowwenne/palawa kani: ''Wulawali'') is a river bank, riverside town located on the Derwent River (Tasmania), River Derwent in southeastern Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1807, it is Tasm ...

, where Davies' father found work as a shopkeeper. In 1851 the Davies family joined the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

to the Victorian Goldfields, where Davies worked in Blackwood; he later moved to Melbourne. In 1856 Davies moved to

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 ...

, establishing himself as a supplier of building materials. His venture was a financial success, and by 1867 he was operating as a general commission agent and merchant in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, specialising in the supply of

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

to the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

and construction industries. He was associated with John Wishart in building a bridge over the

River Torrens The River Torrens (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the Ad ...

, then in 1872 was part of Baillie, Davies and Wishart, who successfully tendered for the construction of the

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...

to Nairne section of the Adelaide to Melbourne railway. This required a steady supply of quality hardwood, which was scarce in South Australia. Davies was involved in the difficult task of contracting for timber, and during this time he became interested in the large forests of

jarrah ''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with rough, fibro ...

and

karri ''Eucalyptus diversicolor'', commonly known as karri, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is Endemism, endemic to the Southwest Australia, south-west of Western Australia. It is a tall tree with smooth light grey to cre ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. In 1875, he applied for a lease of of forest in Bunbury, and the following year was granted a licence to cut timber. He then erected two

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s on the

Collie River The Collie River is a river in the South West region of Western Australia. The Collie River was named by Lieutenant Governor Stirling after Alexander Collie who, along with Lieutenant William Preston, in November 1829 was the first European ...

, which operated for eight years. The success of these mills was limited, mainly because of the poor quality of road between the mills and the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

of Bunbury. M C Davies Flinders Bay Jetty

Timber industry

M C Davies Karri and Jarrah concessions 1899

From 1877, Davies became increasingly interested in the timber country north of Augusta. This area contained excellent forests of jarrah and karri, and there were

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

s nearby where ships could be loaded. Davies sought a licence to work the area in 1879, but was rejected. He eventually obtained timber rights in 1882, and over the following years he consolidated with numerous additional land purchases and licences. His business prospered, and he built numerous saw mills and over of railway line, including the Flinders Bay branch railway, to cart the timber. Jetties were built to enable loading of ships in

Hamelin Hameln ( ; ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hameln-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. History Hameln ...

and Flinders Bays, and the town of Karridale was established to house the hundreds of workers employed by Davies. Davies' business became so successful that by 1890 he was responsible for 32% of all timber exported from Western Australia. By 1894, all six of Davies' sons were involved in his business, and the name of the business was changed from Davies to Davies Company Ltd. In that year he successfully lobbied for the construction of what became

Bussell Highway Bussell Highway is a generally north–south highway in the South West (Western Australia), South West region of Western Australia. The highway links the city of Bunbury, Western Australia, Bunbury with the town of Augusta, Western Australia, A ...

and he was also involved in the construction of the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse in 1895. His timber business continued to prosper and expand, but the timber markets expanded even more rapidly, and by 1897 the company no longer had the resources to keep pace with market growth. In that year, Davies went to London to float the business as a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

, under the name Davies Karri and Jarrah Company Ltd.

Amalgamation of timber business, other ventures, and final years

The next five years were difficult for Davies' business. Many new companies had entered the timber market in Western Australia, and there was fierce competition.

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n demand for timber had been seriously affected by 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 ...

, and other overseas markets were flooded with jarrah and karri. In 1902, Davies Karri and Jarrah Co. Ltd amalgamated with seven other companies to form Millars Karri and Jarrah Forests Limited, informally known as the "Millars Combine". The main Karridale mill was closed soon after, and by 1913 all of the Davies Company mills were closed. Davies retired from sawmilling after the formation of the Millers Combine. However, he also had interests in other fields, including shipping, gold-mining, and especially the pastoral industry. He was involved in the 1881 formation of the Kimberley Pastoral Company, which bought the Liveringa station, and was the company's managing director until 1913. He made various acquisitions that he eventually amalgamated into Kimberley Downs station and his family controlled Napier Downs. He also ran Palmirup Grazing Company, which had large holdings in the Kojonup and Katanning areas. He died at his home at

St Georges Terrace St Georges Terrace (colloquially known as "The Terrace") is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial thoroughfare through the central business district. Its ...

, Perth on 10 May 1913 and was buried in the Jewish section of

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

Personal life

On 24 March 1858, Davies married Sarah Salom, sister of Maurice Salom. The couple had twelve children, four of whom predeceased Davies; six sons and two daughters outlived him.

Notes

References

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