Thomas Arthur Lewis "Tad" Davy (1 May 1890 – 18 February 1933) was a lawyer and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

n politician (

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and Minister for Education). Thomas Davy was born on 1 May 1890 in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, the eldest son of a doctor, Thomas George Davy, and his wife Emily, Gates. The family moved to London in 1894 before migrating to Western Australia in 1895. Dr Thomas Davy practised medicine firstly at Coolgardie, then Fremantle and West Perth. Davy went to school at Coolgardie, then in Fremantle and at the High School, Perth (now

Hale School Hale School is an independent, Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located in Wembley Downs, a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Named after the school founded by Bishop Mathew Blagden Hale in 1858, Hale School claims to be ...

), where in 1909 he received a Rhodes scholarship. He left to study law at Exeter College in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, before being called to the bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1913. The following year he returned to Western Australia, practising law for a time. In February 1915 Davy joined the Royal Field Artillery and served in France from May 1915 until he was wounded in action in September 1916. Davy continued his service in India until 1919. On 21 December 1915 Davy married Penelope Ethel, daughter of

Horatio William Sholl Horatio William "Horace" Sholl (8 April 1851 – 8 November 1927) was an Australian pastoralist and politician in Western Australia. He served in the Legislative Council for a brief period in 1888, and was later a member of the Legislative A ...

, a Western Australian politician. At the end of World War I he returned to Western Australia and resumed his law practice, subsequently becoming a partner in the legal firm of Northmore, Hale, Davy and Leake, and was appointed a King's Counsel in March 1932. Davy sat on the

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

's Board of Governors from 1920 and as its chairman in 1929 instigated the change in the school's name to Hale School. In 1924 Davy was endorsed by the Nationalist Party to contest the Legislative Assembly seat of West Perth, against the sitting member

Edith Cowan Edith Dircksey Cowan (' Brown; 2 August 18619 June 1932) was an Australian social reformer who worked for the rights and welfare of women and children. She is best known as the first Australian woman to serve as a member of parliament. Cowan h ...

, who was herself a Nationalist. It was not unusual at the time for the Nationalist Party to endorse more than one candidate for a seat, but in this case Cowan was seen as unreliable in her support for the "party line", and the party devoted most of its resources to the election of Davy. Davy narrowly won the seat. He was re-elected in 1927, again against Cowan, who contested the seat as a Women's Electoral League candidate, and again in 1930. On 29 April 1930 Davy was appointed as

and in October 1931 also took on the position of Minister for Education. In 1932 he was also made the Minister for the North-West. He was deputy leader of the Nationalist Party from 1927 to 1933, and was acting Premier on several occasions during the absence of Sir James Mitchell. On 18 February 1933 Davy died unexpectedly of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

while playing cards with close friends at the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August ...

. His widow, two daughters and a son survived him. Davy was buried at

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 ...

. Despite being a lawyer, King's Counsel and the attorney-general, Davy died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...

, leaving an estate worth £8,946. A memorial

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. Avi ...

, designed by

Harold Boas Harold Boas OBE (27 September 1883 – 17 September 1980) was a town planner and architect in Western Australia. Boas designed many public buildings in and around Perth and was an influential Jewish community leader. He served as an elected m ...

, was constructed at the

Perth Zoo Perth Zoo is a zoological park in South Perth, Western Australia. The zoo first opened in 1898 and by 2011 housed 1258 animals of 164 species and an extensive botanical collection. It is a full institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Ass ...

and named after him, and a street in

Wembley Downs Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davy, Thomas 1890 births 1933 deaths People educated at Hale School University of Western Australia alumni Australian Rhodes Scholars Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Attorneys-General of Western Australia Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Australian King's Counsel 20th-century Australian politicians British Army personnel of World War I Royal Field Artillery soldiers