Mark Anthony "Mat" Davidson (2 May 1869 – 9 January 1949) was an Australian politician.
Davidson was born in Sydney and left school at 12 to work on a coastal vessel trading with the Pacific islands. He then worked as a bushworker, shearer and tank sinker in the Monaro. He worked as miner from about 1888 to 1896 in Victoria, Broken Hill and Cobar. He lost an eye in an accident and became a tobacconist and barber in Cobar. He was a foundation member of the Australian Workers' Union. He married Gertrude Mary Snape in July 1901 and they had three daughters and one son.
In 1918 Davidson was elected as an Australian Labor Party member for Cobar in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. With the introduction of proportional representation in 1920, the seat of Cobar was absorbed into Sturt and he was elected as one of its members. With the abolition of proportional representation in 1927, he was elected as the member for Murray. In 1930, following a redistribution, he was elected as the member for Sturt and in 1932, following another redistribution, he was elected as the member for Cobar. These electorates always included Cobar when he represented them. He died in office in the Sydney suburb of Little Bay, New South Wales.[1]
| Parliament of New South Wales | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles Fern |
Member for Cobar 1918–1920 |
Abolished |
| Preceded by Percival Brookfield |
Member for Sturt 1920–1927 Served alongside: Doe, Brookfield/Wright/Horsington |
Succeeded by Ted Horsington |
| Preceded by Richard Ball Vern Goodin Matthew Kilpatrick |
Member for Murray 1927–1930 |
Succeeded by John Donovan |
| New division | Member for Cobar 1930–1949 |
Abolished |