Martha Davis arrived in Port Phillip in 1844 with little certainty about what the future might hold. Unmarried, heavily pregnant and far from her English home, she faced challenges that would have overwhelmed many. Instead, she helped build a new life in one of Victoria's earliest frontier settlements.
Born in Farrington, England, in 1817, Martha travelled to Australia aboard the Abberton as a bounty migrant. A year later she married William Nicholas at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Geelong and soon afterwards the couple settled at Colac, then a sparsely populated frontier district.
Over the following decades Martha became one of the district's pioneering women. While raising six children, she helped establish the family farm and create a secure future for those who followed. Their eldest son, John, is said to have been only the second European child born locally. Martha also purchased land in her own name, demonstrating both independence and commitment to her family's future.
Life on the frontier demanded resilience. While William spent long periods working in the forests or carting produce to Geelong and Ballarat with his team of bullocks, Martha was often left to manage the household and children alone. In a district with few neighbours and limited comforts, much of the family's daily life rested in her hands.
As the years passed, she watched Colac grow from a remote settlement into a thriving rural community. In 1891 she joined her unmarried daughter and daughter-in-law in signing Victoria's Women's Suffrage "Monster Petition".
After caring for her frail husband until his death in 1890, Martha spent her final years surrounded by family. When she died suddenly in 1897, her sons ensured she received a fitting farewell. Their devotion reflected the esteem in which she was held and the respect earned over more than fifty years in the Colac district.
Research by Raye Loughnan
Story by Lynne Johnston

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