John S. Davie

John Samuel Davie (1862–1955) was a Scots-born sculptor and teacher in Australia, best known for his statue of Robert Burns in Canberra, reckoned by some as the finest in Australia.

History Davie was born in Edinburgh, the sixth son of William and Anne Davie. Around 1886 he left for Australia, 1900–1901. He retired in 1933, to be succeeded by Stanley Hammond. Around this time he was approached by a committee led by Sir James Murdoch to create the Burns statue, It took him a year, and the seated bronze figure in front of a granite wall with four bas-relief panels was erected at the corner of Canberra Avenue and National Circuit, Forrest, and unveiled on 25 January 1935, the 176th anniversary of Burns' birth. It has been labelled Canberra's first public statue, and is remarkable in depicting the poet seated. Some controversy erupted on account of the verses transcribed onto the bronze plaques — some words, and the spelling of others, had been changed to make their meaning clearer to "Sassenachs".

A grand "Burns Night" dinner was held after the unveiling, when (according to newspaper reports), everyone was toasted or thanked, apart from the sculptor.

Works His first commission was a statue of James Moorhouse, Bishop of Melbourne. They had a home at 58 Orrong Road, Elsternwick; their children included Margaret, Violet, Jean and Allan (born 27 December 1910)

Davie had a brother in Australia, Graham Davie ( – February 1916), a traveller for Alex Cowan & Sons Ltd.

Three of their nephews were killed in WWI: Allan Davie (with the Royal Scots regiment) on 29 October 1916; Graham Davie (Seaforth Highlanders) on 18 November 1916; and John Davie (also Royal Scots) on 6 December 1916. It is likely they were sons of James Davie ( – 29 November 1946), who died in Sydney.