Martha Louisa Jane PARRY / DAVIES
Born 1868 in Ellesmere, Shropshire, England [20] [21]
Daughter of Charles PARRY and Charlotte PEATE [20] [21]
Baptised on 14 June 1868 at the Parish Church in Ellesmere, Shropshire, England[33]
Grew up on Haughton, a 200+ acre farm in Ellesmere, Shropshire, England where her father was a farmer and auctioneer [20]
In 1871 was resident at Haughton in company with her parents, her brother Henry and her sisters Ann, Charlotte, Emily and Mary [20]
By 1881 herself and her sister Emily were both boarders at Mary J. PADDOCK's school at Bulkley House in Willow St, Ellesmere [20]
Married John Hudson DAVIES in 1890 in Shropshire, England [21]
On the night of the 1891 census herself and her husband were visitors in her parents farmhouse in Ellesmere [20]
In 1901 was resident with her husband and their three sons at Bicton Heath in Bicton, Shropshire, England [20]
Their son Denis Hudson DAVIES died in early 1904, aged three years [21]
Departed London, England with husband and sons on the steamship Otway on 25 May 1911 for Fremantle, Western Australia [203]
Her husband was licensee of the Central Hotel on Guildford Road in the Perth suburb of Maylands in 1914 and 1915 [6] [30: item 1897700]
Their son Frank worked as a barman at the Central Hotel until enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force on 8 September 1914 [30]
Frank served as Corporal in the 16th Battalion and was Killed in Action on 7 November 1915 on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey [30]
She and her husband conducted the Railway Refreshment Rooms and Midland Hotel in Mogumber 1916-1922 [6]
Her husband was the licensee of the Midland Hotel, and she was the licensee of the Refreshment Rooms [10: 14-Dec-1915, 12-Dec-1916]
Donated 10/- at the Euchre Party & Dance held in Mogumber in aid of the Foundling Home in Subiaco in 1919 [10: 7-Nov-1919]
In 1920 there was a rumour that the Midland Railway Company was to close the refreshment rooms when their lease expired [10]
Although the rumour was unconfirmed a campaign began for the refreshment rooms to stay open under their management [10]
It was reported that their refreshment rooms in Mogumber were a "boon and blessing" with no known complaints [10: 23-Jul-1920]
On 7 January 1920 purchased the 1,196 acre Lot M1199 of Melbourne Location 935 from the Midland Railway Company [27]
The 1,196 acres cost 10/6 an acre totaling £627/18/-, which was payable by installments over 15 years [27]
Proprietress of the Dongara Hotel and Refreshment Rooms "The Hotel" in Dongara 1922-1924 [6] [19] [50]
Proprietress and Joint Freehold Owner of "Hotel Carnamah" at 22 Macpherson Street in Carnamah 1924-1927 [19] [61]
She, Robert MACKIE and Mrs Lillian E. MCNAMARA had the Carnamah Hotel built in 1923 [39: 14-May-1929] [51] [81: 15-Jan-1928]
The hotel had been designed by Perth architect Edwin SUMMERHAYES and was built by a Mr SILVERLOCK [10: 1-May-1924]
The hotel was situated on the three acre Lot 1 of Lot M1123 of Victoria Location 1936 [3] [61]
The hotel was a bungalow styled building constructed out of local granite with brick quoins and facings [10: 1-May-1924]
Its 30 rooms included a billiard saloon, parlour, two bar, dining room, lounge, office, 16 bedrooms and two bathrooms [10]
A Delco gas plant at the rear of the hotel provided electricity to pump water to overhead tanks and power electric fans [10]
Lock-up garages were provided for their motoring guests, as well as a shuttered six stall stable with chaff room [10]
The hotel was said to have been "second to none in the country in furnishing, appointments and comfort" [9: 13-Feb-1925]
In 1925 the hotel had a tiled roof, wide verandah, spacious dining room, comfortable lounge, and cosy smoke room [9]
The hotel included electric lighting throughout (including the airy bedrooms) and was run on "the up-to-date lines" [9]
In 1926 and 1927 licensee of the hotel was her son George, and the manager was Henry E. MCNAMARA [4:7-Aug-1926] [9: 28-Oct-1927]
Legislative Council electoral rolls reveal that herself, Robert MACKIE and Mrs Lillian E. MCNMARA were the hotel's owners [61]
Robert MACKIE sold his share in the hotel to herself and Mrs Lillian E. MCNAMARA in 1927 [81: 15-Jan-1928]
The hotel was said to have "paid for itself over and over again" being "situated in a very prosperous district" [81: 15-Jan-1928]
She was a "very highly respected citizen" of Carnamah and was "well and favourably known throughout the Midlands" [9: 23-Dec-1926]
She also had the address of 76 Grant Street in the Perth suburb of Cottesloe in 1926 [61]
Mother of "Frank" Francis John Hudson, George Hudson and Denis Hudson DAVIES [20] [21]
Died 30 March 1927 at Hotel Carnamah; buried Three Springs General Cemetery, Three Springs (Unsurveyed Corner) [24]
She was buried in the same plot as her late husband, with Rev. Walter B. KENWORTHY of Dongara officiating at her funeral [24]
From The Midlands Advertiser newspaper, Friday 10 February 1915:
Another Hero Killed in Action
"We have received word from Mrs Davies, wife of the popular proprietor of Mogumber Railway Refreshment Rooms, that her son, Corporal F. Davies, of the 16tyh Battlaion, was killed in action on November 7th. Only last week Mrs Davies received a letter from her son, in which he said he was having a spell at Lemnos, and that Sergeant Mick Walton was back from the hospital, but was not looking too well. The deceased hero was only twenty years of age. The sympathy of all residents on the Midland line will be extended to the parents, in the loss of their brave son."
From The Irwin Index newspaper, Saturday 2 April 1927:
Sudden Death
Much sympathy was expressed by residents of Carnamah on Wednesday evening when it became known that Mrs. M. Davies (58), of the Carnamah Hotel, had passed away at 10 o'clock that evening after an illness extended over a period of only two or three days. The deceased lady had resided in Carnamah since the erection of the hotel, and previous to that time had made a wide circle of friends during her residence in Dongara and Mogumber, and the news of her death, caused by heart failure and complications, came as a severe shock. The funeral, which took place this morning, was largely attended, thus signifying to a great a extend the high esteem in which deceased was held."
From The Midlands Advertiser newspaper, Friday 8 April 1927:
Social & Personal
"We regret having to report the death of Mrs. Davies, of the Hotel Carnamah, at Carnamah, which took place at that centre on Thursday morning of last week. The deceased lady was well known in the Midlands; she had been ailing for some considerable time prior to her death."
From The Sunday Times newspaper, Sunday 10 April 1927:
An Old Identity Passes - Death of Mrs. M. L. Davies
"There passed away suddenly on March 30, at the Carnamah Hotel, Carnamah, an old identity of the Midland [railway] line in the person of Martha Louisa Davies, relict of the late John Hudson Davies, formerly licensee of the Mogumber and Dongara hotels, the funeral taking place at Three Springs on April 1. A son, in the person of Mr. George Davies, has for three years been licensee of the Carnamah Hotel. Mrs Davies was highly respected by a wide circle of friends, a fact that was fully demonstrated by the many messages of sympathy received and the large number who attended the funeral."
From The West Australian newspaper, Tuesday 12 April 1927:
Carnamah
A very much respected resident of the district, Mrs. M. L. Davies, passed away after a short illness, on March 30. Mrs. Davies has been residing on the Midland railway for several years, being licensee of the Mogumber and Dongara hotels before coming to Carnamah."
From The West Australian newspaper, Tuesday 14 April 1927:
Deaths
"DAVIES - On March 30, 1927, at Hotel Carnamah, Martha Louisa, late of Mogumber and Dongara, beloved wife of the late J. Davies, and fond mother of George. English papers copy."
| Reference: Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'Martha Louisa Jane Parry / Davies' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 15 November 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/martha-louisa-jane-parry [reference list] |
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