William Davies (1 February 1824 – 14 August 1890) was an English-born politician, storekeeper, gold miner and mayor in New South Wales, Australia. He was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

to Thomas and Anna Maria Davies. He migrated to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

around 1849, becoming a bookkeeper at

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

before moving to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to work for the '' Argus''. In 1852 he mined for gold at Araluen before returning to Goulburn in the later 1850s. On 11 May 1852 he married Maria Cooper at

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surroun ...

; they had four children. He managed a variety of stores throughout the region and was an alderman at Goulburn from 1859 to 1887, serving four times as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. In 1877 he was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

for Argyle, but he did not re-contest in 1880. He went further into business in the 1880s, becoming involved in mining and railway companies before becoming insolvent in 1887. Davies was a prominent Wesleyan Methodist and was for many years active in the Goulburn

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...

circuit. His eldest son was the first pupil enrolled at

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

on its inauguration at

Newington House Newington House is a historic house in Silverwater, New South Wales, Australia and is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta. The house and chapel are situated on the souther ...

Silverwater, New South Wales Silverwater is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Silverwater is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district on the southern bank of the Parramatta River within the local government ar ...

. At the time Arthur was under 9 years old. Davies helped to lay the foundation stone of Newington at its new campus at

Stanmore, New South Wales Stanmore is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia 6 kilometres south west of the Sydney central business district. It is part of the local government area of the Inner West Council. It is known for its long s ...

and became a life member of its council. Davies died at Redfern in 1890.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, William 1824 births 1890 deaths Members of Newington College Council Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 19th-century Australian politicians