Snapshot in Time: The colourful history of local Geraldton legend William ‘Crabbie’ Davis

William “Crabbie” Davis was born at Gravesend, near the mouth of the Thames River, in 1842.

He began an apprenticeship as a waterman but was arrested for arson and transported to Australia to serve a 10-year sentence in 1863. He and Annie Morris were married in 1870 and settled in Geraldton in 1873.

The nickname Crabbie was received when, as a ticket-of-leave man on Rottnest Island, he was accused of fishing, a punishable offence. He escaped prosecution by claiming that he was not fishing, but crabbing.

Crabbie continued to earn his living as a fisherman in Geraldton for many years, fishing from his small dinghy. He sold his catch on the streets of Geraldton from his two-wheeled cart.

A wedding cake that Crabbie crafted from seashells can be seen at the Western Australian Museum, and, on occasion, the Geraldton Museum.

William “Crabbie” Davis died in 1928 but is remembered to this day as an ancestor of premier Geoff Gallop, and as one of Geraldton’s true characters.

Snapshots is an initiative of the Geraldton Regional Library. For more information, or to donate a historical photo or slide contact 9956 6659 or library@cgg.wa.gov.au