Extract date: 04/06/2026
| Name | Davis |
|---|---|
| Type Designation | Drive |
| Place Id | 5855 |
| Place Type | Road |
| Status | Recorded |
| Date Registered | |
| Locality / Suburb | |
| Connellan | |
| Local Government Area | |
| Alice Springs Town Council | |
| History/Origin | Mr Hugh Paterson 'Pat' Davis (1915-1965) was born on the 25th of March 1915 in Adelaide, South Australia, the second child and eldest son to father James Hugh Paterson Davis, a livestock agent, and mother Agnes Davis née Cheadle. Pat attended St Peter's College in Adelaide, the Chapel of which became the location of his wartime marriage to English-Swiss linguist Emilie 'Babs' Woodley on the 14th September 1940. In 1929 James Davis had purchased his three sons shares in Hamilton Downs Station and for the first decade of married life the couple divided their time between South Australia and the Northern Territory. Pat and Babs had one daughter, Anna, and three sons, Richard, Peter and Anthony. Pat and Babs were known to be a generous couple donating both time and money in the Alice Springs community. Following the passing of Reverend John Flynn in 1951, Pat and several other pastoralists rallied to assist raise funds for the continuance of the Australian Inland Mission hostel and its base for operations of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) in Alice Springs. The Davis' also donated the piping for the railing of the new fence around Anzac Oval in Alice Springs and a Mobo horse for the kindergarten. Pat was a passionate amateur pilot. He served as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Australian Air Force from 1940 to 1944, during which period he trained cadet pilots. In 1949 Pat took Centralian Advocate journalist Alan Wauchope on a first hand ride to experience how he and his brother John employ aircraft in the efficient management of Hamilton Downs Station. The Davis brothers travelled via plane over the vast area to monitor bore sites and check in on cattle movements with the drovers. Later that year, Pat crashed one of his planes on Hamilton Downs having been caught in a 'willy-willy'; both he and his passenger escaped without injury, however the same could not be said for the plane. Pat frequently piloted his own aircraft for the RFDS. He also employed his flying skills in search and rescue missions and spotted James Prince and bush mechanic Kurt Johannsen when they went missing in their search for Lasseter's Reef in October 1950. In 1953 the Davis family left Alice Springs to permanently base themselves in South Australia. The family retained Hamilton Downs and in 1963 Queen Elizabeth II visited Hamilton Downs to witness a cattle muster and enjoy a barbeque luncheon. Mr Hugh Paterson Davis was killed in a boating accident in South Australia in 1965. |
| Date | Gazettal | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| (None Found) |