Ralph Chelmsford Davis

Gerald

Around 1975, the Anglican newspaper ‘Church Scene’ that I was associated with, moved offices to the then Park Lake Building in Fitzroy Street, St Kilda (#171 Fitzroy St if mymemory is correct).

My father, Ralph Davis, had just moved his own office from the Mayne Nickless place to the nearby corner of Fitzroy St and Barkly St (at St Kilda Junction).

He toddled down the few blocks to see where we were, reacting when he saw it: ‘I’ve been here before!’.

He said that JB Davis (our g-grandfather) had contracted to rent the premises – then an apartment – for the Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne in the later 1930s.

When ‘Church Scene’ held it, it still had the remnants of a kitchen and bathroom, but was by then subdivided as an office: we weren’t the first (or last) to rent it for a few years.

The building is long gone now, the whole area re-developed.

BELOW:

Gerald married Margaret Long. They had a son and daughter.

Elizabeth (Libby)

Stories about Ralph

Libby and Russell Conway (Libby is Charlie's granddaughter, via Ralph) have written some stories; most are based on Ralph's own writings, recollections and photos. Click here to read them.

Bombs away

There was a bomb shelter in the middle of the backyard at Charlie and Mabel's house at 13 Linacre Road, Hampton. Let me know if anyone can recall it.

Ralph's name and career

Libby's dad, Ralph had a second name, Chelmsford, taken from the (then) Governor-General of Australia.

Ralph studied accounting at Hemmingway and Robertson and joined his father at Mayne Nickless, becoming Managing-Director and then, in later years, Chairman.

Robert

1. Waiting for our fathers to come to Flinders during the summer holidays

There would be a bunch of us from some or all of the 4 families staying at Flinders in the summer holidays and our fathers would come from the city in the late evening.

We would sit on the top of the veranda rail of the old house, swinging our legs and wait for them to arrive. When we could see a car coming in to Flinders we would all call out “Here he comes!” and then as the car passed the end of Barker Street call out, “False alarm!”

BELOW: This is a photo I took of the old house in 2018 with a rebuilt veranda.

3. William Ricketts

In the 1950s our grandfather, Charles, got to know William Ricketts.

William Ricketts was a rather eccentric sculptor who lived with his mother in the Dandenongs. His property is still there as the “William Ricketts Sanctuary”. It is now owned and managed by the Government of Victoria in some way.

William Ricketts was interested in living with Aboriginal people in Central Australia. He let this be known to Charles, so Charles loaned him a retired Mayne Nickless truck in 1954 (I think).

Some years later, after Charles had died and when the truck had not been returned (and was probably forgotten), my father and mother (Ralph and Dulcie) were driving to Adelaide when they passed an old truck that my father recognised as “one of ours”.

When my father returned to the York Street depot after the Adelaide trip, the old truck was there in excellent condition.

William Ricketts left two of his sculptures with the returned truck.

BELOW: William Ricketts' sculptures.

Ralph Chelmsford Davis