Olive Blanche Davies MSc (27 October 1884 – 1976/7) was an Australian botanist and botanical artist, noted for being co-author with Alfred Ewart of their 1917 book ''The Flora of the Northern Territory'', and for producing many of the illustrations. Olive was born

Toorak, Victoria Toorak () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington Local government areas of Victoria, ...

, the youngest of six children of Elizabeth Locke Mercer (*c1850) from

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; ) is a town at the mouth of the River Dee, Galloway, River Dee in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, southwest of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie. A former royal burgh, it is the traditional county town of Kirkcudbrightshire. His ...

and Sir

Matthew Henry Davies Sir Matthew Henry Davies (1 February 1850 – 26 November 1912) was an Australian politician, who served as Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. He was also a leading figure in the Victorian Land Boom, ending with his bankruptcy in 1 ...

(1850–1912) of

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

. She was a government research scholar studying biology at

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...

, and wrote a paper in 1911 on Petterd's semi-slu
''Cystopelta petterdi''
and another in 1914 o
''Caryodes dufresnii''
a large land mollusk native to

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 ...

. On 22 December 1915 at 'Cluden', in Brighton, Australia, Olive Blanche Davies married Arthur Lyle Rossiter, a lieutenant in the Australian Expeditionary Force, and elder son of Edward Lyle Rossiter of

Elsternwick Elsternwick is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 9 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne city centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government areas of Victoria ...

. Arthur had been born in 1888 in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

By the end of

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 had risen to the rank of captain, and after the war he gave a lecture on gas warfare at Melbourne University, from which he had graduated an MSc. in 1911 and had been a demonstrator in physics from 1913. He had served as a gas officer in the

4th Australian Division The Australian 4th Division was formed in the First World War during the expansion of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) infantry brigades in February 1916. In addition to the experienced 4th Brigade (previously in the original New Zealand ...

in France. In 1924 he was appointed on a temporary basis as senior master at

Melbourne High School Melbourne High School is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Single-sex education, single-sex Selective school, academically selective secondary school, secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb ...

.''Victoria Government Gazette''
/ref> She died in Adelaide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Olive Blanche 1884 births 1976 deaths Australian women artists People from Toorak, Victoria Artists from Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni Australian botanists 20th-century Australian artists Australian people of English descent Australian people of Welsh descent Australian people of Scottish descent Scientists from Melbourne