Smith William Davids
Smith William Davids (1857-1928)
1929 Obituary [1]
SMITH WILLIAM DAVIDS spent a great part of his life in Australia where be carried out engineering work in connexion with sugar mills and railway construction.
He served his apprenticeship at Carnarvon where he was born in 1857, and later went to sea for five years, gaining the chief engineer's certificate of the Board of Trade whilst in the service of the British India Steam Navigation Company.
He then secured his first appointment in Australia at the Alexandria Sugar Mill. He afterwards became associated with the late Sir Alfred Cowley at the Hamleigh Sugar Mill. He then joined the Queensland Railway Department as assistant engineer and was responsible for some of the bridge work on the south coast railway.
In 1897 he resumed work in connexion with the sugar industry and became joint manager at the newly established Melgrave Central Sugar Mill, Gordonvale, North Queensland, which quickly attained success under his management. At this time he invented the Davids cane unloader, which is now widely used. He was also associated with the invention of a cane fibrator.
In 1919 he resigned his position and bought the Cleveland Foundry at Tounsville, establishing the firm of Messrs. S. Wm. Davids and Sons.
Mr. Davids carried on this business successfully until his death on 4th September 1928.
He had been a Member of the Institution since 1906.