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of the 1850s. Ten years later, he controlled a network of 40 companies, in which
Victorian and overseas interests had invested millions of pounds. Like many other public figures, he was caught in the crash of early 1892, and his companies suspended payments in March. Davies resigned from Parliament
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in 1869. He was admitted a solicitor of the
Supreme Court of Victoria in 1876, and married Elizabeth Locke Mercer, eldest daughter of the Rev. Peter Mercer, D.D., of Melbourne, a Presbyterian minister. They produced a family of seven — Arnold Mercer Davies (1876), Marion Agnes Davies (1877), Henry
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and brought back to
Melbourne. After several trials, he was acquitted of the charges, but was declared bankrupt in 1894, with personal debts of 280,000 pounds. The losses of his companies totalled over 4 million pounds — one of the largest corporate defaults in Australian history.
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Davies was the son of
Ebenezer Davies and his wife Ruth, daughter of Mark Bartlett, of Bracknell, Berkshire, England, and grandson of the Rev. John Davies, of Trevecca College, South Wales. He was born at Geelong in 1850, and educated at the Geelong College. He matriculated at the
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In
January 1893, Davies was committed for trial on charges of conspiracy to defraud by means of a false balance sheet. The trial was delayed until May, at which point the Attorney-general, Sir
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Beginning in 1877, Davies had become a major land speculator, taking advantage of the spectacular increase in land values in
Victoria during the boom decades that followed the
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from 1883 to 1889. He was a member of the Royal
Commission on Transfer of Land and Titles to Land in 1885, and, from 1886 to 1887, held a portfolio in the
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and sailed to London to try to arrange finance to rescue his business empire, but was unsuccessful. He returned to
Melbourne to face insolvency.
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Davies returned to his legal practice, and gradually restored his reputation through community service. He died in
November 1912.
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For five years, Davies was honorary secretary of the
Council of the Law Institute of Victoria, and was a
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In 1886, as a member of the Victorian government, he visited England in connection with the
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Gascoigne Davies (1879), Beatrice Elizabeth Davies (1880), Muriel Kate Davies (1882), and
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in 1889, and unanimously re-elected Speaker in the same year. He was knighted in 1890.
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168:(1 February 1850 – 26 November 1912) was an Australian politician, who served as
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491:Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
448:Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
225:Golden Jubilee year of Queen Victoria's reign
170:Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
51:Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
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185:(1884), Cecil Harwood Locke Davies (1886).
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355:. London: Hutchinson & Co – via
290:. Canberra: National Centre of Biography,
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212:Government as a minister without office.
353:The Dictionary of Australasian Biography
282:"Davies, Sir Matthew Henry (1850–1912)"
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196:from 1881 to 1882. Davies represented
348:"Davies, Hon. Sir Matthew Henry"
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223:in October of that year. Marking the
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521:Australian people of English descent
511:Mayors of places in Victoria (state)
63:4 October 1887 – April 1892
221:Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
516:Australian people of Welsh descent
506:People educated at Geelong College
287:Australian Dictionary of Biography
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16:Australian politician (1850–1912)
368:Victorian Legislative Assembly
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190:Justice of the Peace
183:Olive Blanche Davies
105:Matthew Henry Davies
501:People from Geelong
236:Victorian Gold Rush
431:Alexander McKinley
395:Served alongside:
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30:Sir Matthew Davies
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455:Succeeded by
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414:District created
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393:1883–1889
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133:(1912-11-26)
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458:Thomas Bent
441:Peter Lalor
419:Member for
387:Member for
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74:Peter Lalor
69:Preceded by
470:Categories
452:1887–1892
425:1889–1892
357:Wikisource
262:References
144:Profession
111:1850-02-01
323:22 August
310:1833-7538
147:Financier
59:In office
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345:(1892).
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49:5th
252:Colombo
206:Gillies
200:in the
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210:Deakin
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