Olive Blanche Davies

MSc MSC may refer to: Computers * Message Sequence Chart * Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory * MIDI Show Control * MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor) * USB mass storage device class (USB MSC ...

(27 October 1884 – 1976/7) was an Australian botanist and botanical artist, noted for being co-author with

Alfred Ewart Alfred James Ewart, FRS (12 February 1872 – 12 September 1937) was an English- Australian botanist. Early life and education Ewart was born in Toxteth Park, Liverpool, England, second son of Edmund Brown Ewart, B.A. and his wife, Marth ...

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, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area, on Boonwurrung Land. Toorak recorded a population of 12,817 at the 2021 ...

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

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town lies southwest of C ...

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

. She was a government research scholar studying biology at

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, 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 ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. 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, 9 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Elsternwick recorded a population of 10,887 at the 2021 ...

. Arthur had been born in 1888 in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

By the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1905, the school caters for boys from Year 9 t ...

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

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

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