Arthur Henry Davey

General Notes: Born 9 June 1878 in Dunedin. He was educated at a private school; Dunedin Normal & Arthur St School, Dunedin.

He had a burning desire to go to sea, but his father had other ideas, and Arthur worked for the Standard Fire & Marine Insurance Co. of NZ as an office boy. He was soon fired, he said, for incompetence. His father faced up to the inevitable, and Arthur went to sea at the age of 16 before the mast for the next 5 years.

In 1899 he obtained his 2nd Mate's Certificate in London, and then joined Bukllard, King & Co. as 3rd Officer of their steamers, trading on the England-South Africa and India-South Africa routes.

In 1903 Arthur gained his Master's Certificate in London, and signed on as 1st Mate for the delivery voyage of the 377 ton 'Alexander' to the Anchor Shipping and Foundry Co., Nelson. On arrival he obtained a position as 3rd Officer with the Union Steam Ship Co of NZ, with which he was to remain for the rest of his career. Over the next 7 years he worked his way up through the officer ranks, serving in every type of ship in the fleet.

Captain of 'Monowai' and 'Awatea', among 25 of the ships he commanded for the Union Company.

He made more Tasman crossings than any other man. Known as a colourful liner captain - "proved himself a great sailor, a skilful mariner and a trustworthy friend."

He received from the President of Finland the award of knighthood of the Order of the White Rose of Finland.

'Davey and the Awatea' by W A Laxon - this is a very good history of Captain Arthur Davey's life.

The Awatea was sunk in 1942 off Tunisia while acting as a troop ship, so only had a short career of 6 years.

On 13 May 1906 he married Ella May Ratcliffe HUNTER (known as May) atAuckland, and had 2 sons & 1 daughter (died at 11 wks).

Lived at 16 Marau Cres., Mission Bay, Auckland.

Father of Jack (John), the well-known radio entertainer of Sydney. Jack died of cancer, and his funeral in St Andrew's Cathedral was one of the largest ever seen in Sydney.

Father of Geoffrey, a former merchant marine officer, served in the Royal Australian Navy during the war, and then farmed in the Auckland province and Te Awamutu.

He reluctantly retired in 1941 due to arthritis.

He died at his Auckland home on 1 March 1966. His ashes were scattered from a Union Company ship in the Tasman Sea, midway between Australia and NZ.

Will sighted 24 May 2001- He was looked after by a housekeeper (ChristinaHarriet LENNY) after his wife died in 1950.

[http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4d3/davey-arthur-henry]