Agnes Paterson Davis (1883-1977) was born in Melbourne, youngest child of sawyer Alexander Paterson and his second wife Mary Ann née, Purcell. Her father and his first wife Margaret, left Scotland as assisted immigrants, arriving in Melbourne in 1862. Mary Ann whom Alexander married at St Arnaud, was originally from London. The family settled in the Warragul district of Gippsland not long before Agnes was born. Her father died there when she was five. Whilst the essential details of her life are known, there is much uncertainty about the basics of her education, art training, and what she did for a living prior to marriage to telegraphist Stanley James Davis at Warragul in 1909. Gwendoline was born 1911 and a son, Stanley Douglas in 1921. She outlived them all. She was a brilliant gardener and with the assistance of her husband had turned their home garden at Surrey Hills into a showplace which attracted public attention. She is also reputed to have been an excellent painter of porcelain.

What happened to the creative impulse of the late twenties and early-thirties remains a mystery.

Lizette Bentwitch | Sir John Monash Exhibition | Records and Archives Services | Monash University