Robert Davidson was the youngest of the children born to John Davidson and Mary Davidson nee Dalrymple of Mauchline.

Robert was born on the 4th of September 1856 at Mauchline¹, the year after John Davidson, his father, formed a partnership with Robert Wilson and the same year that Samuel Amphlet joined the partnership. The company of Davidson, Wilson, and Amplet was thriving and the family was well established. The company Davidson, Wilson, and Amphlet made boxes. Their innovation was to use prints of the local area on the boxes. This essentially was the foundation of today’s tourism industry trinkets with pictures on items of the areas that people visit.

John Davidson was already a firm believer in the temperance movement and it was in this background of affluence and temperance that Robert Davidson was born. Robert’s childhood was influenced by the death of his mother when he was seven years old, the involvement of his father and older siblings in community events, particularly those that revolved around agriculture sport,s and temperance, as well as the family business. Robert was the goalkeeper for a Mauchline football team². Family members entered horticultural and agricultural shows and all members of the family attended temperance meetings.

The Davidson family had a strong belief in education. This was evident in that the children of the family are shown engaging in education up until at least the age of 12, before starting to take their place in the Davidson and Son’s Box manufactury. Universal education for children was very much promoted in Scotland. The requirement for all students between the ages of 5 to 13 to attend schools was not fully enforced in Scotland until 1872, however, it was notable that the children of the Davidson family were all receiving some level of education in the 1861 census. The children older than the age of 12 may also have received an education, however, this level of detail is not recorded in the 1851 census.

It may have been the changing fortunes of the Davidson family or the number of family members that were in the box-making business, it may also have been the challenges of raising a young and intelligent boy once Mary Davidson had died that decided the Davidson family to encourage Robert to build upon his education. 

Robert’s early education, like that of his older siblings, was at a public school in Mauchline. The school conducted the education of between 30-50 students, most of these were educated for free, and some students paid a fee³. Robert obviously demonstrated some aptitude for study and an interest in furthering his studies. At the end of his studies in Mauchline Robert continued his education, culminating in his attendance at Gilmorehill College at the University of Glasgow⁴.

It was while at University that Robert met Jane (Jean or Jeanie) Logan Muir. Jane was born on the 12th of July 1858 in Stewarton, Ayrshire in Scotland. In her younger years, Jane’s father owned and ran a carpet manufacturing business that employed 19 men, 8 women, and 3 boys⁵. By the time Jean was 12, her father was no longer employing people in his business, instead, he was working as a Commission Agent⁶, possibly, at this stage, in the same carpet manufacturing business. Later Jean’s father was to be a Commissions Agent clerk for an Oil and Soap business. This was a far cry from his early career. At its height James Muir was a carpet manufacturer, the business also included wool spinning and bonnet making. From the 1851 census, it appears that the carpet manufactury employed 7 men, 43 women, and 10 boys, while the remaining part of the company employed 48 men, 20 women, 23 boys, and 23 girls⁷.

Like her future husband, Jean had gone through some schooling, at least until she was 12 years old. After that, she was noted as a shopkeeper in the 1881⁸ census in Hanover St in Glasgow, less than two miles from Gilmorehill, at the University of Glasgow and the Free Church Theological College where Robert Davidson studied theology.

Jean and Robert met not long after Robert took up his studies at university and were swiftly engaged. However, Robert and Jean were unable to get married until Robert had completed his university degree and been ordained, seven years later⁹. Over the seven years of Robert’s Master of Arts Degree in Theology, he worked small jobs to put himself through university and support himself in Glasgow. This flexibility was to help him later in life. Shortly have graduating from Glascow University, Robert was ordained a Presbyterian Minister, on the 31st of August 1883 and then swiftly accepted a Charge in the Presbyterian Church in Australia¹⁰.

During the time that Robert completed his studies, Jean continued to work in a shop in Glasgow. However, her health was gradually deteriorating as she developed bronchial trouble that was exacerbated by the cool climate. It was with this in mind that Jean and Robert decided that he would take up a Charge in Australia. It was hoped that the sun and warmer climate would help restore Jean to health. On the day that Robert was ordained as a Presbyterian Church Minister, he also married Jane (Jean) Logan Muir¹¹. The couple were booked on the S. S. Sorata, as Saloon passengers, to leave Scotland on the 4th of November 1883¹², less than three months after their wedding. The couple left Scotland in exalted company. On board the steamer passengers included four other Ministers of the Church bound for Australia as well as a Governor of the West Indies, his wife, family, and entourage¹³.

In general, the Sorrento had an excellent trip with few troubles. However, as the ship rounded the Cape of Good Hope, it ran into some bad weather that impacted Robert Davidson badly. As a result, when he arrived in Australia, Robert was so weak that he needed to be carried ashore on a stretcher¹⁴. Once in Australia, Robert and Jean stayed at Balmain for a couple of weeks. Robert Davidson was given a choice of the Charges of Port Macquarie or Broken Hill¹⁵. Robert chose Port Macquarie¹⁶ and within two weeks of arriving in Australia the couple once again had to get onboard a steamer to travel the short distance to Port Macquarie. The Port Macquarie Charge included Port Macquarie, Camden Haven, Wauchope, Yarras, Rollands Plains and Telegraph Point. From Port Macquarie, this area stretched north approximately 20km, West almost 70km, and South over 40 km. All of this would need to be traversed by Robert Davidson on a horse as he worked with the parishioners of his Charge.

Once the couple arrived in Port Macquarie they had expected to live a the Port Macquarie Manse. However, another family, the Wilsons had been permitted to live in the Manse and so the Davidson’s had to find alternative accommodation. For the first two years of their time at Port Macquarie, the family lived at Edinborough House. It was in this house that the first of the two Davidson children was born. Mary Calderwood Dalrymple Davidson, 5 July 1884¹⁷, and Jeanie Logan Muir Davidson, 19 August 1886¹⁸. At the end of two years, the Davidsons and the Wilsons swapped houses. The Davidson’s moved into the Manse, a convict-built home that was constructed to house the minister for the Church.

The Davidsons continued the naming traditions that had been used by their family for generations. Mary was given the name Mary, the name of both Robert and Jean’s mothers, Calderwood, the maiden name of Jean’s mother, and Dalrymple, the maiden name of Robert’s mother. Jean was given her first name in honour of her mother and then the name Muir for Jean’s maiden name and Logan for Jean’s mother’s maiden name.

The Davidson family moved into the Manse between the birth of Jeannie and Robert Alexander Boyd (Bert) Davidson, born in 1888¹⁹. Bert was named after one of Robert’s brothers Alexander Boyd Davidson.

The Manse was an old convict building that had originally been built in 1841. The building was in poor repair when the young family first moved in. There was a large cellar that had problems with damp and the floor boards were rotting. Aside from the rotting floorboards, the wood throughout the rest of the manse was of cedar and was very good quality. French doors opened from the front verandah into the bedrooms on each side of the entrance. Above each of the doors was a moon-shaped fanlight reaching from the top of the doors to the twelve-foot-high ceilings. On entering the manse there were locked cabinets on either side of the door where Mary Davidson displayed the wedding gifts of china that she and Robert had bought to Australia with them. Unfortunately, when the manse was having its floors repaired the majority of the china was damaged when the builders removed the cabinets²⁰.

The manse also had large open fireplaces in all of the bedrooms and living spaces. The fireplace in the sitting room had a bar across for boiling the kettle. The kitchen was a separate building away from the house to reduce the risk of the house burning down. During the time that the Davidsons lived in the manse, the house was renovated and modernised. This included the construction of an internal kitchen.

Over the next few years, Robert and Mary had four more children after the birth of Bert. Agnes Gillies Walker (Nancy) Davidson, born in 1890²¹. Agnes Gillies was the name of Jean’s maternal grandmother. John James (Jack) Muir, named after Jean’s father, born 1892²², William Eric (Eric) Davidson, born 1893²³ and Douglas Neil Davidson, born 1895²⁴.

During Robert’s time as the Minister for the Port Macquarie Charge, he spent nine years riding from farmhouse to farmhouse and from one church building to the next. Robert would often be away from home for long stretches staying overnight at farmhouses or anywhere else that he could get a bed. Robert would preach three services a week on a Sunday, all in different locations. This would frequently necessitate him crossing large creeks and rivers. Where these were swollen due to rain, he would remove his clothes, place them in his valise, and swim his stock horse, (Bertie) across the river. Andrew McQuade of Wauchope described Robert Davison, “I saw a tall man on a tall horse coming along out of the scrub. I saw he was a clergyman and that he was either a fool or some new chum, to cross the river as he had done.²⁵“ After his services in each area, Robert would often stay with one of the local families so that he could perform any marriages, christenings, or burials that were needed in the area.

Over the nine years that Robert was the Minister for the Port Macquarie Charge, he became well-respected in the area. However, years of rugged travel, little time at home, and the poor fare of salted beef and cold damper that was available to him when on the road took a toll on his health. So, nine years after he arrived in Port Macquarie Robert Davidson resigned, on the 30th of June 1893 and purchased the ‘Port Macquarie News’²⁶. 

During his time as Minister for the Port Macquarie Charge, Robert had found that the district for which he was minister was not increasing in prosperity. Floods were frequent and when they occurred the prime industry of the area, which was maize growing, for fattening pigs, and timber getting were not lucrative for the area. Transport difficulties also made timber a challenging industry for the district. For a short while it was thought that sugar cane may be a better crop than maize. Some of the local farmers tried growing sugar cane but they found that the frequent frosts in the Hastings District killed the young shoots. As both minister and later as proprietor of the local newspaper Robert continued to travel to all areas of the local Hastings District. In doing so, he confronted these problems daily. With his knowledge of other agricultural pursuits, possibly as a result of the early influences on his own family when they were in Mauchline, Robert Davidsons started to introduce the concept of dairying to the Hastings District. As his influence continued to grow many of the farmers started to take his suggestions seriously and the concept of a dairy industry in the Hastings area became popular²⁷.

Robert owned and edited the ‘Port Macquarie News’ for nine years. During this time, the paper focussed on local news, agricultural pursuits and included a regular column of advice that was very much focussed around similar subjects to those that Robert had preached as a Minister for the Church. Robert continued to travel to local events, often taking his wife and family to agricultural shows and to events that the family were easily able to get to, his daughter Nancy, wrote about the events that they attended in the many letters that she wrote over the years.

Mr. Buntine was inducted Minister of the Port Macquarie Charge that was put in place to take over when Robert Davidson resigned from the Charge. When Mr Buntine took over, despite the many innovations that Robert had brought to the Church there were some new ideas that Mr. Buntine decided to introduce. This included a ‘Session’ a council of Elders that took on the administration of the Church. They also often conduct church services. Robert Davidson was chosen along with Mr. W. S. Lindsay of Huntingdon to be the first Elders of the Port Macquarie Charge. They were inducted on the 26th of February 1894. They were quickly joined by Adam Johnston²⁸. 

While Robert owned and worked in the ‘Port Macquarie News’ he was also trying his hand at farming. The family had to leave the Manse when Robert was no longer Minister. So, they took a lease on 40 acres of land on a peppercorn rent from the Church of England. The rent was based on the condition that Robert cleared the gum trees on the land. The land included a small house that was extended by the addition of a few extra rooms for the family’s use. The Davidson family decided to name their new residence ‘Glimorehill’, after the University in Scotland that Robert had attended. The new home included the Davidson family and Mary Knight, a live-in helper for Jean Davidson. Nancy remembered the move to Gillmorehill by the family. “I remember I had to burrow my way through a thick clump of lantana. It was so high that you could walk under it. Bert, Jack and with Eric in the pram went the long way around”²⁹.

In 1898³⁰ Robert introduced the first purebred Ayrshire cattle to the district. Ayrshire cattle were ideal for the rugged terrain of the Hastings area and were good dairy cattle. Robert showed his cattle at a number of local country shows, on occasion winning blue ribbons³¹. 

With the introduction of Ayrshire Cattle and the continued influence of Robert Davidson the Hastings area built up a small but productive dairying centre. Soon, they were able to build a separator in a factory at Wauchope. Jean Davidson was there, with her husband to open the separator by turning on the tap to let the first milk flow into the separator³². There is still a thriving dairy industry in the Hastings District of New South Wales, to this day with Aryshire Cattle continuing to be popular dairy cattle in the region³³.

Sketch of Robert Davidson when running for the seat of Cowper, NSW. (The Port Macquarie  News 12 Dec 1999).

After nine years as a journalist and proprietor of the ‘Port Macquarie News’ Robert Davidson again decided to change careers. His next new challenge was to enter the New South Wales State Parliament. In 1901 Robert Davidson was elected as the member for the Hastings and Manning Electorate and a Member of the Legislative Assembly (M.L.A.)³⁴. Robert was elected as a member of the Liberal Party and Reform Party. Robert had run for Parliament at the previous election for the Cowper Electorate but had not succeeded. In 1901, he was elected as the representative of the Hasting Macleay Electorate³⁵.

Robert Davidson and Jean Logan Davidson nee Muir (authors collection)

During his time as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, Robert campaigned tirelessly for improvements to the local district. He was on committees that included; the Scone Cattle Sale-yards, Dairying Industry, Lismore Markets and Cattle Sale-yards, and several other committees for both regional and town interests, including the North Sydney Brick and Tile Company’s Tramway Bill Committee³⁶. Other improvements that Robert campaigned for included a number of bridges and the North Coast Railway. The North Coast Railway had been a topic of discussion for some time. Many in the area felt that it was a necessity and would open up the region to new trade opportunities and increase the local economy. During his nine years in Parliament, Robert Davidson did not get the North Coast railway opened up. However, he entertained members of Parliament and continued to push for the railway line during his entire term and after he had left Parliament. He is still credited as one of the driving forces that caused the North Coast Railway line to be built. The railway line saw an influx in families and employment opportunities in the area as each station was opened up, increasing the prosperity of the region³⁷. 

On one of his many trips to Sydney as a member of Parliament Robert met with a serious accident. As he boarded a tram at Leichardt on his way into the city a dray attempted to pass in front of the tram. While doing so, a rabbit cart was coming along near the dray and the tram. The dray touched the cart which pulled over onto the tram. The cart then struck the tram footboard and swerved into Robert Davidson on the right leg, below the knee causing a serious fracture. Robert was taken to the Prince Alfred Hospital where he was treated. The fracture was a complex one with the bone showing through the skin. Robert Davidson was “laid up” for around five weeks. The cart was badly damaged but the drivers of both the cart and the dray were unharmed³⁸.

Robert Davidson (Parliamentary Photo NSW Parliamentary Website).

In his early days as a member of Parliament, Robert Davidson was asked to officially open the bridge across the Wilson River at Telegraph Point. Robert had campaigned for the bridge and the whole family was there to witness his pride at being able to open the bridge. Robert and family were also present for the opening of the first District Hospital, called the ‘Cottage Hospital’ and in 1907 Robert was again part of the official party at the opening of Bain’s Bridge in Wauchope³⁹.

In 1910 after having represented the Hastings District under two different Premiers for nine years, Robert Hastings was ousted as the representative of Hastings as a Labor Government swept into power⁴⁰. Robert Davidson again turned his focus to farming and his family. However, there were the stirrings of the First World War on the horizon and Robert would again feel the need to use his influence.

The family continued to participate in local agricultural shows. Jean was particularly known for the quality and variety of her jams. Other members of the family entered flowers, sewing, and a variety of other endeavours⁴¹. But as war loomed the attention of the Davidson family turned to other things.

Like many families during the First and Second World Wars the female members of the family and the younger members of the family turned to knitting. They mostly knitted socks for the men fighting in the trenches. Robert Davidson on the other hand turned his attention to the recruitment of men and women to the front.

In 1915 the Coo-ee March started on the 10th of October in Gilgandra with 25 men and finished on the 12th of November with 263 recruits⁴². The march had stopped at many towns on the way as it gathered in pace and size. Robert Davidson witnessing the success of this march and wanting to do his bit organised a March of his own. Robert started the ‘Long March’ in Grafton where he spoke to the men “with much patriotic fervour”, then “like the Pied-Piper” he led them to Port Macquarie and then onto Taree to catch the train to Sydney. By the time the contingent reached Port Macquarie there were 200 recruits. Overnight accommodation was provided by the use of the hall at the Port Macquarie Show Ground. Nancy recalled working with her sister Jean and many other helpers “washing dishes, providing tea, and cutting sandwiches for the boys” to take with them. The next morning Nancy and Jean climbed into the Tower of St. Thomas’s and “watched the marchers wheel around Horton Street into Gordon Street and kept watching until they were over the crest and out of sight. Although we could no longer hear them, we could still hear the strains of “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” for the next few minutes.⁴³”

During the War and after the Long March, Robert Davidson again focussed his energy on farming. He wanted to have a place for his children to return to when the war was over. Robert purchased a ten-acre block of land and started to clear it so that it could be made ready for planting. Each day he would take a seven-pound golden syrup tin full of drinking water and some food and after breakfast, he would start clearing the land. He used a plough and all of the cleared growth was removed with his sulky.

Three of Robert Davidson’s sons and one of his daughters saw service in World War 1. They all returned home. However, by the end of the war, the Davidson family went in different directions. By 1914, Mary had moved to Kiama with her husband the Rev. Torbett. The couple had met while George Torbett had the Port Macquarie Charge. Jeanie was the Matron of the Forbes Hospital, she had continued nursing after she had returned from the war. Robert (Bert) was the manager of the Port Macquarie Butter Factory, Jack was living on the farm that Robert had bought while four of his children were away at war. Eric moved from Port Macquarie to the Australian Capital Territory where he worked as a Surveyor and both Nancy and Douglas had eventually moved to Sydney⁴⁴.

At this time Robert went into semi-retirement⁴⁵. He sold his farm and house and the majority of his stock⁴⁶. Robert was still a presence in the town of Port Macquarie, but he no longer engaged in the advocacy that he had previously and he was no longer as evident in public life. In 1929, Robert and Jean went into full retirement, by this time Jean’s health was in considerable decline and Robert was also struggling with poor health. Robert and Jean moved to Kiama to live with their daughter Mary Torbett and their son-in-law. As they left the Port Macquarie district the couple were given a grand farewell. The event took place in Green’s Hall in Port Macquarie. Attendees included the Mayor and Mayoress, several Alderman the Shire President, and other dignitaries. Letters were read from other dignitaries who were unable to make the occasion, including those of members still in Parliament. Both were feted as pioneers of the Port Macquarie District and as major players in the foundation and running of many of the public bodies in the town. It was claimed that there was no public body in town that one or both of the Davidsons did not have a connection to. Speakers took the stand, each of them recalling personal anecdotes about their interactions with Robert Davidson or his wife and calling to mind some of their activities in the service of the district. After the speeches, the Mayor presented the couple with a wallet containing £90. Robert Davidson responded on behalf of himself and his wife, thanking everyone for their support over the 46 years that the Davidsons had lived in Port Macquarie⁴⁷. 

Robert and Jean moved in with Mary at the Manse in Kiama. However, Jean’s health did not recover, and twelve weeks after they moved to Kiama Jean died. Jean was remembered for her constant companionship of Robert in the Port Macquarie District. She was also remembered for her contribution to the Red Cross during the war. Jean was described as “having a gentle nature, a kindly and charitable disposition towards all her acquaintances, and criticism never fell from her lips.⁴⁸” Jean was buried at Kiama Cemetery. She died on the 16th of December 1929⁴⁹.

Twelve months later on the 5th of August 1931, Robert Davidson also died. His health had not recovered on moving to Kiama and once his wife died Robert never recovered from the shock and steadily declined into senility⁵⁰. For some months before Robert died he had been moved to the Forbes Hospital where he was looked after by his daughter Jean and other staff at the Forbes Hospital. Robert was also buried at Kiama with his wife. Papers across New South Wales, but particularly in the Port Macquarie and Kiama areas included obituaries that summarised the lives of Robert and Jean Davidson and the impact that they had on so many people and communities.

Grave of Robert Davidson and Jeanie Logan Davidson nee Muir.
Find a Grave, database, and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48913395/robert-davidson: (accessed 02 January 2024)

References

1. Scotland  Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950, Robert Davidson ↩︎
2. 1929 ‘FAREWELL & PRESENTATION.’, The Port Macquarie News and Hastings River Advocate ↩︎
3. Groome, H. F. Mauchline; A Historical perspective. ↩︎
4. Mr Robert DAVIDSON (1856 – 1931), NSW Parliamentary Website ↩︎
5. Ancestry.com. 1861 Scotland Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. ↩︎
6. Ancestry.com. 1871 Scotland Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. ↩︎
7. Ancestry.com. 1851 Scotland Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. ↩︎
8. Ancestry.com. 1881 Scotland Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. ↩︎
9. Harte, B. 1979. Man with a Mission, Port Macquarie News, Monday, September 24, 1979. ↩︎
10. Coombes, L., 2006. Miss Nancy; A Unique Lady 1890-1987. ↩︎
11. Scotland Scotland Registry, marriage certificate 644/9 365 (1885), Davidson-Muir. ↩︎
12. New South Wales Government. Inward passenger lists. Series 13278, Reels 399-560 ↩︎
13. Coombes, L., 2006. Miss Nancy; A Unique Lady 1890-1987. ↩︎
14. Ibid. ↩︎
15. Eipper, A. J. The History of the Port Macquarie Charge of the Presbyterian Church, sesqui-centenary edition 1990. ↩︎
16. Cameron, J. 1905. Centenary History of the Presbyterian Church in New South Wales. ↩︎
17. Birth Cert. DAVIDSON, Mary C D. ↩︎
18. Birth Cert. DAVIDSON, Jeanie L M ↩︎
19.  Birth Cert. DAVIDSON, Robert A. B, DAVIDSON ↩︎
20. Coombes, L., 2006. Miss Nancy; A Unique Lady 1890-1987. ↩︎
21. Birth Cert. DAVIDSON, Agnes G. W. ↩︎
22. Birth Cert. DAVIDSON, John J. M. ↩︎
23. Birth Cert. DAVIDSON, William E. ↩︎
24. Birth Cert. DAVIDSON, Douglas, N. ↩︎
25. Harte, B. 1979. Man with a Mission, Port Macquarie News. ↩︎
26. 1931 ‘OBITUARY.’, The Port Macquarie News and Hastings River Advocate ↩︎
27. Harte, B. 1979. Man with a Mission, Port Macquarie News ↩︎
28. Eipper, A. J. The History of the Port Macquarie Charge of the Presbyterian Church, sesqui-centenary edition 1990. ↩︎
29. Coombes, L. 2006. Miss Nancy; A Unique Lady 1890-1987. ↩︎
30. Wauchope First Hundred Years Pt 2. ↩︎
31. 1929 ‘FAREWELL & PRESENTATION.’, The Port Macquarie News and Hastings River Advocate ↩︎
32. Ibid. ↩︎
33. Australian Ayrshires. (2023) ↩︎
34. 1931 ‘DEATH OF ROBERT DAVIDSON, EX-M.L.A.’, The Richmond River Herald and Northern Districts Advertiser ↩︎
35. 1901 ‘MR. R. DAVIDSON (HASTINGS-MACLEAY).’, The Sydney Morning Herald ↩︎
36. Robert Davidson. NSW Parliamentary Website ↩︎
37. Wauchope First Hundred Years Pt 3. ↩︎
38. 1903 ‘MR. ROBERT DAVIDSON, M.L.A. ↩︎
39. Harte, B. 1991. ‘Dirty’ politics- and the coming of the railway line. ↩︎
40. Premiers of New South Wales, NSW Parliamentary Website. ↩︎
41. Harte, B. 1991. ‘Dirty’ politics- and the coming of the railway line. ↩︎
42. 1915 Coo-ee March (2014) ↩︎
43. Opcit Harte, B. 1991 ↩︎
44. 1929 ‘OBITUARY’, The Port Macquarie News and Hastings River Advocate ↩︎
45. Harte, B. 1979. Man with a Mission ↩︎
46. 1920 ‘Advertising’, The Port Macquarie News and Hastings River Advocate ↩︎
47. 1929 ‘FAREWELL & PRESENTATION. ↩︎
48. 1929 ‘OBITUARY’, The Port Macquarie News and Hastings River Advocate ↩︎
49. 1929 ‘Obituary.’, The Kiama Independent, and Shoalhaven Advertiser ↩︎
50. Coombes, L., 2006. Miss Nancy; A Unique Lady 1890-1987. ↩︎

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