Victoria University College (B.A., 1936; M.A., 1938)
St John's College, University of Cambridge, in 1938 where he was Holland Rose student and Bartle Frere exhibitioner in 1940. His doctoral thesis, 'European penetration of the South Pacific, 1779-1842', was accepted in 1942
(Deceased), 1973-04-08
History, Heritage And Archaeology
1954
James (Jim) Wightman Davidson (1 October 1915 – 8 April 1973) was a New Zealand historian and constitutional adviser. Professor of Pacific History at the Australian National University from 1950 to 1973, Davidson has been described as the "founding father of modern Pacific Islands Historiography as well as constitutional adviser to a succession of Island territories in the throes of decolonisation".
While advising chiefs in Western Samoa in 1949, Davidson accepted the new chair of Pacific history at the Research School of Pacific Studies at the ANU. He continued advising islanders, helping to draft constitutions for the Cook Islands (from 1963), Nauru (from 1967), Micronesia (from 1969) and Papua New Guinea (at the time of his death).