MERVYN DAVIS (1916-1985) (FAILA)
After studying horticulture at Burnley where she topped the year in 1946, Davis, like many other early female designers of her era took on work as a jobbing gardener. This was followed by a technical assistant position at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. From 1951 until 1956 she worked as a herbarium assistant at Melbourne Botanic Gardens.
According to Hendry (1986) these experiences were to give Mervyn an ‘extensive and remarkable knowledge of plants’. Like a number of other Burnley graduates, she travelled overseas to study Landscape Architecture at Durham University, UK (1956-57). After her time in England she received a three month fellowship to study at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. She was the first person to be offered this fellowship.
Margaret Hendry recalled she met Davis in the studio at King’s College, Durham University in 1956 and she was to have a profound influence on Hendry’s life.
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Image of Mervyn Davis from article which appeared in Landscape Australia 1/1986, p 57. |
Davis was instrumental in establishing a professional organization for Australia’s emerging Landscape Architecture profession. Hendry (1986) notes, Davis’ enthusiasm drew Jean Verschuer from Perth, Noel Lothian from Adelaide and Eric Hammond from Melbourne for the first informal meeting held in Canberra. Mervyn Davis, Sue Marks and Eleanor McClennand began to form meetings aimed at establishing a Victorian group of AILA. Davis had invited Edna Walling to join the Institute, however Walling declined.
Once AILA was formed, Mervyn became a member of the Executive Council and was concerned with education, employment and establishing the criteria for corporate membership of the professional body.
As education of the fledgling profession was regarded as vital, a series of annual extension lecture were held on landscape design at the Melbourne Institute of Technology. Davis prepared the first landscape design and history course presented in 1961. She specialised in history and the development of the profession. (Hendry 1986).
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| Peter and Jean Spooner with Meryn Davis circa 1965. Image: AILA Archives. |
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| Meryn Davis in coveralls. Image: AILA Archives. |
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In 1970 she was appointed as the first Fellow of the AILA, however this came at a price. A letter from the secretary of the newly formed Institute advising her of her appointment, also broke the news:
“I am afraid, however, that with the honour comes a commitment, as the fees for a Fellow are set at $30 per annum. Sorry to have to break this news to you.” (AILA Archives). Ten years later she was awarded an MBE ‘for her contribution to the community and the profession’ (Hendry 1996). No fee was attached to this honour!
Davis explored many aspects of landscape design and was best known for her landscape designs for a number of Australian airports. Her career choice was no doubt influenced by early experiences. She says “My family were always interested in gardening so I was surrounded by gardeners from an early age. And now I have of course the disease of being a gardener and that’s bad as I’m working in that field.” (The Melbourne Age 1969). Her interests also included fishing, collecting books on Australian and natural history and photography. At the time of the interview she mentioned that she’d given up a lot of active sport and enjoyed travelling in the country observing the natural environment.
She worked with her life partner, Daphne Pearson and Dr Jim Willis as co-authors on a collection of almost 2000 short biographies in a collection called Australian plants - collectors and delineators. This collection was begun by Davis in 1955 whilst working in the National Herbarium at Melbourne Botanic Gardens. Illness cut short this work - Davis died aged 68
Edwina Richardson AILA 2005
REFERENCES
Aitken, Richard & Looker, Michael (eds) (2002) The Oxford Companion to Australian Gardens Oxford University Press: Oxford.
Hardy, Sara (2005) The unusual life of Edna Walling. Allen & Unwin: Sydney.
Hendry, Margaret ‘The life and times of Mervyn Davis a brilliant strategist and advocate for landscape architecture’ Landscape Australia 1/1996, 57-58.
Latreille, Anne ‘Landscape architect dies’. The Melbourne Age 7.5. 1985.
‘She designs landscapes’. The Melbourne Herald 12.6.1969.
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