Natalia Davies Prize

In 1951, Miss Amylis I Laffer gave £400 to the University to perpetuate the memory of Miss Natalia Davies, who was for more than twenty years a teacher of outstanding merit in the Education Department of South Australia.

Miss Davies was born at Lampeter, Wales in 1907 and came to South Australia in 1919.  She was educated Adelaide High School and at the University of Adelaide where she obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1930 and the Diploma in Education in 1940.  Miss Laffer has supplied the following information about Miss Davies' work:-Apart from her profession, Miss Davies took a prominent part in public activities.  She was one of the founders of the Women Teacher's Guild and for many years a member of the Executive Committee of the National Council of women.  But it was, perhaps, in the realm of civil defence that she gave her greatest public service.  In 1933 Miss Davies founded in Adelaide the Defence Society, the first organisation in Australia to be interested in air-raid precautions; and later, with Lady Bective, she was largely responsible for establishing the South Australian Division of the Women's Air Training Corps of which she was Deputy Commandant and later Chairman of the Executive Committee. 

During the war the Government appointed her a member of the Women's War Service Council and the Civil Defence authorities appointed her Area Officer for two City areas.  As a result of her experiments in camouflage the military authorities granted her facilities at Keswick Barracks and so effective were some of her designs that they were recommended to the British Army Delegation which visited Australia in 1944 in search of material to be used at the invasion of Europe on D-Day.

Miss Davies was always specially interested in history, particularly of the British Empire and Commonwealth, and she was the authoress of a number of radio plays on historical subjects that were broadcast in South Australia.

Miss Davies was always specially interested in history, particularly of the British Empire and Commonwealth, and she was the authoress of a number of radio plays on historical subjects that were broadcast in South Australia.

The Natalia Davies Prize Rules

Further reading:
Australian Dictionary of Biography: Natalia Davies
State Library of South Australia

For a confidential discussion about how you can give in memory or celebration, please contact the Development team on +61 8 8313 5800 or development@adelaide.edu.au