DAVID DAVIES

Wales' first millionaire

The story ofDavid Davies of

Llandinam, the man can justifiably
claim to be Wales' first
millionaire.
His life is a real tale of "rags to
riches."

Davies was born the eldest of nine children in

December 1818 at Llandinam,
Montgomeryshire

He left school at 11 and worked on the

land for 20 years as a sawyer.

Soon he began making money from

organising labour gangs on the new
railway lines that were being built across
Wales

He played a major part if the construction of the

Newtown to Aberystwyth railway before turning his
attention to the rapidly expanding coal industry

By the 1850s he might have become an important and wealthy man but
Davies never lost touch with his roots. In his book Davies The Ocean,
Herbert Williams wrote:
"He was still the old Davy, ready to roll up his sleeves and turn to with the
lads. One morning he saw them struggling to roll heavy stones into trucks in
a quarry and with a cry of 'Sweet boys, up with them!' helped them
shoulder the stones into place.
His effort was all the more impressive in that he was on his way to London
on business and wearing a dark suit which was so covered in dust that he
had to go home to change before making the journey."

Davies became interested in the coal industry. He quickly

recognised the potential of mining in the upper Rhondda
Valley and joined a small group of investors who bought a
lease on land near Treorchy.
His workers dug for 15 months without a sign of coal. With
his money running out, Davies called a halt to the work. There
was no money for the miners wages. Yet in a remarkable
display of loyalty and faith in Davies, the men kept going as
they believed that they were close to hitting a seam. They
promised to work one more week without wages.
.
During that week, they struck one of the worlds finest coal
seams - they had finally struck

black gold.

Dare Colliery

Further mines followed, including the Garw and the Lady Windsor.
So successful was the enterprise that in 1887 the Ocean Coal
Company Ltd was established, and became one of the most
enterprising coal companies in Wales.
His workforce rose dramatically from a few hundred to more than 5,000
men.
As the Taff Vale Railway Company and Cardiff Docks were unable to
cope with the traffic from Ocean Collieries, Davies promptly built
himself a new dock at Barry. This cost him 2 million .
It was considered to be one of the best industrial ports of its time.

He had made an incredible journey, from humble labourer to the

richest man in Wales. David Davies symbolises the energetic, hard
working and imaginative Victorian entrepreneur, a self made man who
knew exactly where he was going and, more importantly, precisely
how he was going to get there.

Your task is to research the

David Davies contribution to
coal society.