By Alva “Bobbie” Davies and Martin Davies

Bill always tried to keep active by walking and swimming. He was the best of husbands and a wonderful caring father to William Martin (“Marty”) Davies and Jennifer Dianne McCourt (nee Davies) and he dearly loved his grandchildren, Erin and Cara McCourt and Jackson Davies. (Ryan McCourt was not born when Bill died.) His grandchildren called him “Bee Boo”.

Early Years

Bill was born at a Private Hospital in Mordialloc (Keswick) on 20/1/1930 at Keswick Hospital Mordialloc. His father was William James Davies, and his mother was Mary Iliffe Davies (nee Lauder). His mother disputed the birth date of William Frankston Davies and insisted it was 24th January1930. William Frankston was baptised on 16th March 1930 (see the ARCHIVES BOX).

Bill came from a small family, with just one sister, Mary Jean Gertrude Davies who married John Edward Lyne (two children: Susan and Gary).

Education

Bill was educated at Chelsea Primary School, Mordialloc-Chelsea High School (1942-1946), and Frankston High School (1947). He would have matriculated here, but failed English and Matriculation depended on that. He originally planned to study Optometry but this depended on Matriculation. After starting work, he attended night school at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (now RMIT University) to study Accountancy. He qualified in 1955. Later in life, when his children were almost grown up, he matriculated in English and French at Cheltenham Night School achieving his Matric in later years.

At Mordialloc high school, when the war was on, Bill remembers that there was a zig-zag trench dug into the yard just near the creek, and the school had air raid drills, when all children must make for the trenches, and jump in. However, sometimes, it was full of water which used to seep up from Mordialloc creek.

Employment

About 1948, after working with his father at Burkhart and Bain's engineering works, and finding it not to his liking (he didn’t like getting his hands dirty), Bill was fortunate enough to be offered a chance of a job by his next-door neighbour, a Mr. Hershall, who had connections with the Harbor Trust. This was successful, and Bill studied Accountancy at night school whilst working there. He gained his certificate about 1954, a year before he married. Bill was employed at the Melbourne Harbor Trust, Hart and Co. Industrial Chemical Company (1954-1972), manufacturers of toxic chemicals and sheep dip, then Johns and Waygood (1974-1984), manufacturers of elevators, amongst other things. His son, Marty, remembers Bill showing him a barrel of arsenic at his workplace and being told that a fingernail quantity could kill. (Constant exposure to such chemicals might have had an impact on Bill’s later illness and death.)

Bill had some private clients later in his career and retired in 1984 at the age of 54 after being made redundant in a work restructure. He told his son he never once applied formally for a job during his career, and only half-heartedly made job applications after being made redundant. (This was during the 1980s recession and no-one was interested in a 54-year old accountant.) Fortunately, Bill and Bobbie owned a house in Alemain Street, Noble Park—on land given to Bobbie by her father Frank Cowen. This was sold for $50,000, and this allowed Bill to retire. Bill and Bobbie also owned a house at Inverloch at 21 Beach Avenue West (now 18 Beacon Court)—also given to Bobbie by her father. This remains in the family.

Marriage and Family

William Frankston Davies married Alva Gladys Cowen (b1928) and had two children:

—William Martin Davies (b1960) M. Alice Mok (b1966)
—Jennifer Dianne Davies (b1966) M. Sean Thomas McCourt (b1962)

Travel

Bill travelled to England twice, once with his wife, in 1956, and once with his wife and two children in 1973. The latter was an entire year of travel, taking one of the last passenger liners, the S. S. Oronsay, to Europe via Tahiti, Curacao and South Africa; months of driving around Europe in a camper van—taking in countries as far south as Turkey and Greece, and as far north as Scotland, Sweden and Norway—and then returning by ship, the S. S Fairstar back to Australia again. For his children it was the most exciting and memorable year of their lives. His son Marty has digitised all the family slides, including those of the 1973 trip.

Interests

Bill was an excellent natural sportsman. He played cricket and football when younger, having one game with the VFL Footscray Football Club (now the Western Bulldogs, 2016 Grand Final winners). He is noted in all publications of the AFL history of players. Bill also represented Victoria in Junior Cricket Team with an unbeaten century in 1951. He swam, jogged and rode bicycles daily. He also had an interest in playing the ukulele.

Bill did well in Football, cricket, swimming and athletics at High School. Both Jean and Bill remember that his father William James Davies, in spite of being at work all day—and a long day at that—used to spend hours down the beach, throwing the ball to them to help them practice.

Recollections

After George Lauder died, his wife Mrs. Mary Lauder Senior went a little odd, according to her grandson, and Mary and Bill Senior—with little Bill—
moved to the family house in Jolimont to stay with her. This house—a classic Melbourne two-story bungalow with a wrought-iron balcony—was owned by Mrs Mary Lauder (Senior) and was virtually opposite to—and in close walking distance to—the MCG. Eventually she decided to come and live at Chelsea with Mary and Bill. Bill remembered that when he was at Jolimont, even though a toddler, he got splinters in his hands and knees from crawling along the veranda. (The Jolimont house was eventually rented out. During the depression the government froze rents, and sadly this property was sold as the maintenance and upkeep at the time was unaffordable to Bill and Mary. Now it would be worth many millions of dollars.)

During the time that they were courting, and when they were first married, Mary and Bill (Senior) used to come down to Chelsea for weekends, and when they reached the house very late at night, it was the usual thing to take a hurricane lamp down to the water’s edge and then have a swim. In those days, without the lamp to show them the way out of the sea, they may well have become disoriented. Some of their friends were the Gibbs family and Bert Everton. There is a collection of photos of various families—including Bill and his parents—playing at the beach in the front of the house.

In those days, too, there was a well in the yard (about 5 metres in from the lane fence on neighbour Davis' side). This was filled in when Jean and Bill came along. There was also another well about where the end of the front veranda is now, which Pop assured everyone was the home of a frog. Neither well was used by the family for drinking purposes. The Chelsea house was at that time owned by Mrs. Mary Lauder Snr (widow of G. F. Lauder). It would later be passed on to Bill and Jean as tenets in common.

As a young state school pupil, Bill remembers that he used to play cricket and football. He had to wear glasses for a few years whilst at state school, and there is a photo of him in the class photo looking a little like Billy Bunter with his round glass and roly-poly torso. He was frugal even in those days, for his mother told me that on one occasion, when he had ordered pie, from the little shop near the school, he asked for his money back (probably 2d) as he was called home early to go to the dentist.

He remembered that his Uncle, George William Lauder was living with the family, sleeping in one of the many bungalows on the property for some years, and he used to take Jean and Bill out walking, pushing Jean in her pram, and pushing Bill on his little bike, by means of a long stick. Bill's Grandmother, Mary (Senior) moved in a year or so after her husband died. She may have had the double bungalow built (now demolished) at that time. Prior to that the view from the top of the block to the beach. There was a time, according to Pop, when he could sit on the old pan dunny with the door open, smoking, and see who was walking along the beach. He said that he used to wave to people, but this may have been one of his stories.

Bill’s Grandma, Mary Senior, was the one who taught both Jean and Bill how to play cards and crib, and they became, like Mary and Pop quite good players. Grandma, also, used to have an account with a large store in Melbourne called Ball and Welch, and Bill and Jean were often taken there to be outfitted. Grandma especially made sure that they had good footwear.

As young children, Bill and Jean used to play with the neighbourhood children under the street lights after tea almost every night until called in. There was a large family nearby called the Musgroves, so there was always someone to play with. During the state school years, there was an Infantile Paralysis scare, and the powers that be decided to close the schools, and parents had to keep their children at home. This went on for quite a few months. It was a common sight to see some child stricken with the disease, being wheeled along the street in a bed-like structure on wheels. The Salk vaccine, in later years, put a stop to that. Bill said that he remembers that during that time, he was given numerous colouring books, which were like pastel paper, and were coloured in with chalk. This was a ruse to keep him indoors.

Bill also recalls a trip to the Eye and Ear hospital in the city, and it was then perhaps that he was advised to wear glasses. He was in about the 3rd grade. However, he did not wear them for long, and did not need glasses again until he started work at the Harbor Trust.

The financial climate at the time of Bill and Jean's childhood was very bad, and the only holiday away from home was taken at Daleysford, and—even then—Pop still stayed at work. Pop used to say that he hated Christmas, because whilst he had a holiday, he did not get any pay.

The beach was not like it is now, according to Bill. There were plantations of shiny leaf, with brush fences, with little tracks leading down to a rather steep cliff, and at the bottom of this cliff there were several beach boxes. During their childhood, Jean and Bill used to go into competitions to build the best sand castle. This competition was held every year, and was a great day out. Usually after the judging, the family spent time at Luna Park or other places. (Pop used to stand away from the children, and give them signals to straighten up a wall, or some other such help, which was against the rules, of course, but when did Pop ever worry about the rules?) Bill or Jean usually took a prize.

In about 1937, Bill left state school and started at Mordialloc-Chelsea High School, and he recalls that he used to ride his bike along Station Street meeting up with his friends along the way. He recalls that after reaching Aspendale, there was tea-tree all along the roadside opposite the railway line, and they used to ride in and out of these.

Both children used to go regularly to Sunday School, but about the time he started high school, the pastor asked Bill would he teach a class. That was the end of Sunday School, and for that matter, Church, for Bill (he was never keen on public speaking). Jean, however, remained a teacher until she married, and is still a regular churchgoer.

It was during his high school years and later, that his parents used to spend Saturday nights playing cards with some of their friends. I heard that the games used to go well into the early hours of the morning, and a large supper was the usual thing. All children used to bed down as best they could. Sometime Bill and Jean used to go to the pictures, and then call for their Mum and Dad to collect them.


ARCHIVES BOX. 1930. Birth certificate of William Frankston Davies.
1936 Grocery docket of Mary Davies in ARCHIVES BOX.
1940 Junior swimming certificate W. F. Davies in ARCHIVES BOX.
1941 Senior swimming certificate W. F. Davies
1942 Life savings certificate W. F. Davies
1942 School report book Form VI W. F. Davies
1944 Proficiency certificate W. F. Davies
1945 Pencil drawings by W. F. Davies
1945 or later. Copy of old songbook.
1946 LAUDER FAMILY. Death of Mary Lauder. 6/8/46. Mother of Mary Iliffe Davies.
1946 in archives box Photo of Chelsea Junior Football Club.
1947 DAVIES FAMILY. Chelsea property left to W.F.and M.J.G.Davies with provision that Mrs. M.I.Davies live there for life.
1947 In archives box is a reference from the pastor of the Congregational Church, Chelsea, for William Frankston Davies., also a copy of the Frankston High School booklet "Kananook" also a copy of a photo of the Chelsea Junior Football Team Premiership.

Physical Characteristics and Medical History
Bill was just over 6' tall, Brown eyes, Black hair, Build average, Complexion darkish. He had a placid nature, and was a helpful loving man very fond of his family. Willing to help anyone needing help. Good sense of humour, and not above playing tricks.

Bill was in exceptional health until he was 72 years of age and very fit. He took his own life on November 1st, 2003 when suffering an incurable disease, later diagnosed as Multiple Systems Atrophy. His family believe that he did it so that they would not have to see him suffer for years. He was greatly loved by his wife, children and sister. His passing left a great hole in the hearts of his wife and children.