Black-and-white photographic portrait showing an elderly man in left-facing profile, wearing a suit and holding a pipe.

Edward “Teddy” Davison was a New Zealand farmer, soldier, and public servant. After studying at Lincoln College for two years (1911-12), he farmed at Palmside near Culverden for about two decades before moving to the North Island.

During the First World War, he served as a cavalryman with the Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. After being wounded, he returned to New Zealand but later went back to the Middle East with the 19th Reinforcements. During the Second World War, he served as a captain and instructor in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

After the war, Davison worked in the Welfare Section of the Department of Internal Affairs and later administered Raoul Island. He was known for his interest in wildlife and natural history, spending his later years at Tai Tapu and the Ranerdale Soldiers’ Home in Christchurch.