Inside the tropical Hua Hin lovenest of army major Graeme Davidson accused of murdering his wife in Queensland kayak ‘drowning’ – where their SON is now hiding out with his father’s new young Thai bride

The son of a retired army major accused of drowning his first wife while kayaking in Queensland is holed up with his father’s new bride in Thailand.

Hamish Davidson has come down from his home in Bangkok to stay with Pick Pattraporn at the coastal resort of Hua Hin while his father Graeme languishes in an Australian prison cell.

On Sunday, Graeme Davidson was charged with murdering his wife of 26 years – Hamish’s mother Jacqueline – at Lake Samsonvale, north of Brisbane, in November 2020.

Police allege Davidson killed Jacqueline after their marriage had broken down and later tried to claim more than $1million in life insurance policies.

Glasgow-born Davidson spent 22 years in the British Army before emigrating to Australia and serving 11 more years in uniform for his adopted country.  

He moved to Hua Hin, 200km south of Bangkok, five months after Jacqueline’s death and in December the following year married Pattraporn.

The 55-year-old bought a four-level home near the beach where his son and second wife were supporting each other when Daily Mail Australia spoke to Hamish on Friday.

Hamish came downstairs for a brief conversation and said neither he nor his stepmother wanted to discuss the arrest of his father or the murder and fraud charges he is facing.

The son of a retired army major accused of drowning his first wife while kayaking in Queensland is holed up with his father’s new bride in Thailand. Hamish Davidson is pictured at the home his father Graeme shared with Pick Pattraporn

Graeme Davidson was charged on Sunday with murdering his wife of 26 years at a lake north of Brisbane in November 2020. He moved to Thailand in April 2021 and married Pick Pattraporn in December 2022 (above)

‘We don’t wish to speak with the media,’ the heavily tattooed son said in a thick British accent. ‘We’d appreciate privacy through this.’

His stepmother later told Daily Mail Australia in a telephone call: ‘I don’t have anything to say.’ 

After Daily Mail Australia left the house, a woman believed to be Pick Pattraporn parted the curtains on the third floor and had a peek outside.

A Thai maid was earlier seen doing chores around the house and a young Thai man ran errands, including a trip to a supermarket in recent days.

Police did not initially think Jacqueline Davidson’s death was suspicious when the 54-year-old beautician drowned while kayaking with her husband on November 27, 2020.

But coronial inquiry led detectives to cast doubts over Jacqueline’s death and Operation Victor Harlow was launched to investigate whether it was a homicide.

Davidson, who had moved to Hua Hin in April 2021, was arrested while visiting Brisbane for a family matter last weekend and was refused bail.

Detective Acting Inspector Steve Windsor told reporters on Monday that the fraud charges against Davidson concern money allegedly obtained by life insurance claims.

Graeme Davidson bought this four-level home near the beach where his son and second wife were supporting each other when Daily Mail Australia visited the property on Friday

After Daily Mail Australia left the house a woman believed to be Pick Pattraporn parted the curtains on the third floor and had a peak outside (above)

‘The combined life insurance was in excess of $1million,’ he said. ‘And there was an attempted fraud, a claim was made.

‘Incidents are not always what they initially seem, so I thank the detectives for their diligent work in this lengthy and arduous investigation.’

Davidson was well-prepared for his move to Thailand a year into the Covid pandemic, posting his plans on the Hua Hin Expats Facebook page.

‘I am flying into Bangkok in April before moving to Hua Hin,’ he wrote on April 4, 2021. ‘Can you still fly in and get a 30 days visa?

‘I already have health insurance (explicitly covering COVID) and can buy a flight out if required. I also have both a UK and Australian passport.’

By October the following year Davidson was asking for recommendations for a part-time gardener and a full-time maid for work near Hua Hin hospital.

A month later he was expressing interest in buying a house between the beach and one of Hua Hin’s main roads.

‘I’m specifically seeking houses under market value that have possibly been on the market a while and probably need some kind of renovating,’ he wrote online.

Police initially did not think Jacqueline Davidson’s death was suspicious when the 54-year-old beautician drowned while kayaking with her husband (both pictured above)

Davidson refined his desired location to south of Hua Hin airport and no more than 250m from the sea. He set a maximum budget of 40 million baht (about $1.9million).

‘I don’t mind if one house or many less expensive houses,’ he wrote.

‘Obviously if you are selling land I need enough money left to build something on it within my budget. A tent on 40,000 land won’t rent.’

While Davidson stated he intended to rent out the property he wished to purchase, the description of what he wanted to buy matches where he ended up living.

That place is between a main road and a beach near Hua Hin hospital in the Bor Fai district south of the airport.

The home has a pool and jacuzzi and was last offered for sale for about 10 million baht ($470,000) but after recent renovations might be worth 14 million ($660,000).

A local real estate agent explained foreigners can buy a house in Thailand but they cannot purchase land. Property sale prices are not available publicly.

Davidson registered a company called Davidson Holidays Pty Ltd in October 2021.

Davidson was dressed in a kilt on his second wedding day when he married Pick Pattraporn. The couple was joined by the bride family for celebrations which ran late into the night

Company records list Davidson as the director with a Thai national holding 51 per cent of shares and the other 49 per cent in the hands of an Australian.

Davidson appears to have lived a carefree existence in his beachside retreat. He once put out a Facebook plea: ‘Does anyone know where you can buy wild caught salmon – not farmed?’

In June 2022, Davidson provided an online review of a restaurant and the ‘absolutely delicious’ menu he was ‘working through one night at a time’.

‘A particularly well stocked bar and excellent value for money,’ he wrote. ‘Friendly service and warm atmosphere.’

In December that year, almost two years to the day after his first wife’s death, Davidson remarried and was pictured grinning alongside his beautiful young bride as they posed with fistfuls of cash while toasting each other.

The groom was dressed in a kilt as he was filmed dancing down the street, surrounded by his new wife’s family for the nuptials.

Hamish and his two sisters do not appear in any of the pictures or video posted on social media from the celebrations which went on late into the night.

Two months later, one of Davidson’s friends described a night out with him and his ‘lovely wife’ at Hua Hin floating market – a collection of shops on piers connected by wooden walkways.

Hamish came downstairs for a brief conversation and said neither he nor his father’s second wife wanted to discuss the arrest of his father or the murder and fraud charges he is facing

Graeme Donaldson spent much of his time in Hua Hin playing pickleball with his wife (pictured, circled) with both ex-pats and locals

Davidson had settled into married life for the second time in Thailand, where foreigners can get a retirement visa if they are aged 50 or over and do not work.

The visa can be renewed every year if its holder has 800,000 baht in the bank or can show they earn at least 65,000 baht a month from a source such as a pension paid by their homeland.

Donaldson spent much of his time in Hua Hin playing pickleball with his wife.  

He was also active in the Hua Hin Veterans Group, helping organise Anzac Day and Armistice Day gatherings at a bar popular with expats.  

English-language media outlet Surf Radio noted on its Facebook page this week that Davidson had been charged with murder in Australia.

Davidson’s mate Walter Meier responded to Surf Radio’s post by urging those rushing to judgment to show caution.

‘Totally shocked!’ Meier wrote. ‘And not convinced of anything yet.

‘Graeme is a good friend. I listened carefully to him tell me this story more than once. At this point, all we know is an arrest was made.’

Davidson made no appearance when his charges were mentioned at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday. His case will return to court on May 19.

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