John Mark Davies

Sir John Mark Davies (8 February 184012 September 1919) was a British-born Australian politician.

Born in Halstead, Essex, England in 1840, Davies was the fifth eldest of the six boys and six girls of Ebenezer Davies and Ruth Bartlett. Two of the younger boys were educated at Geelong Grammar School. John was articled in 1852 and in 1863 was admitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria as a solicitor. He worked as a partner in a law firm for some years, and was President of the Law Institute of Victoria in 1885–86; he was made the group's first honorary life member in 1919.

Political career Davies served in the Victorian Legislative Council from 1889 to 1919, representing first the South Yarra Province (1889–1895) then Melbourne Province (1899–1919). He resigned from the Parliament on 6 July 1919, after suffering a stroke, and died a few months later aged .

Honours Davies was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in January 1918. He was given a state funeral.

Residence The home he had purchased in 1892, Valentine's Mansion, became the site of Malvern Grammar School (now the Malvern Campus of Caulfield Grammar School), and was placed on the Victorian Heritage Register in 1975. The Davies family lived in Valentines until 1919 when they moved to Little Valentines in Wattletree Road, Glen Iris.