Davis, Aunty Mary
DESCRIPTION
NameDavis, Aunty MaryBiographyBorn to parents James McGrath and Emily Drumbley on 18 August 1939, Aunty Mary Davis joined the rest of her family in moving to Nambucca Heads from Casino soon after her birth.
Attending school on Stuart Island, Aunty Mary lived in houses made of recycled timber and corrugated iron along the island’s riverbanks throughout her childhood.
After the death of her mother around 1950 Aunty Mary continued to live with her father until the Welfare Board made her a ward of the state and she was forced to live with her mother’s family, the Drumbley’s in Beaudesert Queensland.
Moving around a lot over the next five years Aunty Mary attended school at Urunga and Cabbage Tree Island before finishing her schooling at Ballina High School.
Leaving school at 16 Aunty Mary began picking up work on local farms doing housework, milking cows and looking after the local children. All of Aunt Mary’s labour went without any sort of remuneration.
In February 1956 Aunty Mary moved to Sydney to work as a domestic servant before moving two years later to Wollongong where she met her husband, Bobby Davis.
Aunty Mary and Bobby Davis would later have five children together and another eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
The pair lived on the official camps at Coomaditchie, while Bobby supported the pair through his work on the local wharfs. Bobby was a member of the local Trades and Labour Council in Wollongong, a group that led to the formation of the South Coast Aboriginal Advancement League.
The formation of the league led to the beginning of Aunty Mary’s many battles for the local Aboriginal community.
Aunty Davis’ first victory came when the Aboriginal Advancement League won the right to build houses at Coomaditchie after years of lobbying the government.
After this victory Aunty Mary began travelling to Canberra fighting for the rights of Aboriginal people to fish, walk into pubs and shop in retail stores, while she continued to push the benefits of education to the younger generations.
After moving from Coomaditchie to Koonawarra in 1971 Aunty Mary began work with Illawarra Area Health as an Aboriginal Health Worker.
After recognising the need for more employment opportunities for local Aboriginal residents Aunty Mary helped established the highly successful Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation in 1983 while she was also instrumental in establishing the Noogaleek Aboriginal Children Centre at Berkeley and the Aboriginal Elders units at Primbee.
Aunty Mary continued her hard work as an ATSIC regional councillor for nine years while she was also chair of both the Local Aboriginal Lands Council and the Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation.
Recognised for her ongoing work helping Aboriginal residents Aunty Mary was the recipient of many prestigious awards including the 2000 Shellharbour City Council Citizen of the Year, 2007 NAIDOC Aboriginal Elder of the Year, Contribution made to Australian Society Centenary Medal recipient and 2005 Senior’s Week Achievement Award.
Aunty Mary Davis passed away in 2007 at the age of 67.
Contributed by the Davis family for Shellharbour City Council's 'Shellharbour 150 Years' Sesquicentenary Exhibition, 2009.
Attending school on Stuart Island, Aunty Mary lived in houses made of recycled timber and corrugated iron along the island’s riverbanks throughout her childhood.
After the death of her mother around 1950 Aunty Mary continued to live with her father until the Welfare Board made her a ward of the state and she was forced to live with her mother’s family, the Drumbley’s in Beaudesert Queensland.
Moving around a lot over the next five years Aunty Mary attended school at Urunga and Cabbage Tree Island before finishing her schooling at Ballina High School.
Leaving school at 16 Aunty Mary began picking up work on local farms doing housework, milking cows and looking after the local children. All of Aunt Mary’s labour went without any sort of remuneration.
In February 1956 Aunty Mary moved to Sydney to work as a domestic servant before moving two years later to Wollongong where she met her husband, Bobby Davis.
Aunty Mary and Bobby Davis would later have five children together and another eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
The pair lived on the official camps at Coomaditchie, while Bobby supported the pair through his work on the local wharfs. Bobby was a member of the local Trades and Labour Council in Wollongong, a group that led to the formation of the South Coast Aboriginal Advancement League.
The formation of the league led to the beginning of Aunty Mary’s many battles for the local Aboriginal community.
Aunty Davis’ first victory came when the Aboriginal Advancement League won the right to build houses at Coomaditchie after years of lobbying the government.
After this victory Aunty Mary began travelling to Canberra fighting for the rights of Aboriginal people to fish, walk into pubs and shop in retail stores, while she continued to push the benefits of education to the younger generations.
After moving from Coomaditchie to Koonawarra in 1971 Aunty Mary began work with Illawarra Area Health as an Aboriginal Health Worker.
After recognising the need for more employment opportunities for local Aboriginal residents Aunty Mary helped established the highly successful Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation in 1983 while she was also instrumental in establishing the Noogaleek Aboriginal Children Centre at Berkeley and the Aboriginal Elders units at Primbee.
Aunty Mary continued her hard work as an ATSIC regional councillor for nine years while she was also chair of both the Local Aboriginal Lands Council and the Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation.
Recognised for her ongoing work helping Aboriginal residents Aunty Mary was the recipient of many prestigious awards including the 2000 Shellharbour City Council Citizen of the Year, 2007 NAIDOC Aboriginal Elder of the Year, Contribution made to Australian Society Centenary Medal recipient and 2005 Senior’s Week Achievement Award.
Aunty Mary Davis passed away in 2007 at the age of 67.
Contributed by the Davis family for Shellharbour City Council's 'Shellharbour 150 Years' Sesquicentenary Exhibition, 2009.
Photograph
CONNECTIONS
Davis, Aunty Mary. Shellharbour City Council, accessed 10/12/2025, https://discover.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/1609