He was transported to Hobart, Australia as a convict in August 1831, for ordering candles on someone else's account.
His father had been transported to New South Wales only a few years before.
On 5 July 1854 he and Auber George Jones, a Tasmanian pastoralist, published the first edition of The Mercury.
[2] In June 1872 he opened up the theatre building (which he then owned) to homeless people seeking temporary shelter due to floods.
Davies' son John played first-class cricket for Tasmania and was thrice Mayor of Hobart.