People Australia

William Davies, also known as William Davis (1830-1889) coal miner and trade union official 

Birth: 1830 in Monmouthshire, South Wales, son of Jonathan Davies (1805-c.1840) and his wife Elizabeth. Marriage: 12 March 1853 in Monmouthshire, Wales, to Maria Turvey (1833-1908), an iron stone stacker. They had three daughters and three sons. Death: 1 July 1889 at the Junction, Newcastle, New South Wales. Religion: Primitive Methodist. 

• Was a tin furnace man at Trevethin, Wales, in 1851. Arrived in New South Wales with his wife and eldest, son George, aboard the Truro on 1 June 1855. George died soon after. By 1857 William and Maria were living at the Pits, Newcastle. William worked as a coal miner.
• Founding president/chairman Hunter River Coal Miners' Mutual Protective Association in 1860. President/chairman of revived association, 1870.
• In 1873 went against miners' sectionalism by advocating admission of wheelers and other non-miners to union, pointing out "it was the duty of the miners to look after the interests of the unorganised as in many cases they were their own children".
• With John Wood, he led successful 1873 campaign for 10-hour day and for general agreement with mine owners providing for arbitration and sliding scale of wages. Visited Southern NSW coalfields in 1876 and again in 1879 to advise Southern miners on rates and encourage union amalgamation.
• Resigned presidency after inconclusive Northern coalfields strike of 1888.
• Cause of death: tumour of the liver.

Sources
Robin Gollan, The coalminers of New South Wales: a history of the Union (Melbourne, 1963); Edgar Ross, A history of the Miners' Federation of Australia ([Sydney] 1970.