The top inscription reads:
IN
Loving Memory of
CHARLES DAVIS.
Who departed this life
on April 21st 1914.
In His 89th Year.
"He being dead yet speaketh"
HEB 114
The middle inscription reads:
THERE IS NO SADNESS IN LIFE'S EVENTIDE
WHEN GOD IS THERE HIS HAND DOTH GENTLY GUIDE
THE WEARY PILGRIMS TO THEIR HOMEWARD WAY
TOWARD THE LAND OF EVERLASTING DAY.
The tablet reads:
THIS TABLET
WAS PLACED HERE BY THE EMPLOYEES OF
CHAS.DAVIS LTD.
AS A MARK OF ESTEEM AND RESPECT.
IN WHICH Mr CHAS.DAVIS
WAS HELD BY THEM.
To the right of these inscriptions is the inscription for Charles' daughter Martha who died in 1937 and was buried with her father. Martha never married.
IN
Loving Memory of
MARTHA
daughter of
CHARLES and EMMA DAVIS
Newspapers printed fulsome obituaries, praising him for his fine and flourishing store and his generosity generally. His funeral at Holy Trinity Anglican Church was well-attended. 'An impressive service was held, at which many of the late gentleman's elderly friends, who were unable to proceed to the cemetery, attended', ran the description. The congregation sang 'Rock of Ages' and 'Abide with Me', then the cortege proceeded slowly to the Cornelian Bay cemetery. 'The deep love and esteem in which the deceased had always been held was responsible for an exceptionally large cortege, and no less han 35 or 40 cabs followed the remains to the grave.' Two large char-a-bancs and seven cab carried Charles Davis' employees, and his own carriage followed the hearse, which was 'beautifully draped in purple and black'. At the gates of the cemetery, '86 sorrowing employees' drew up on either side as the coffin was drawn from the hearse and carried to its final resting place. The pall-bearers were the heads of the five departments in the firm of Charles Davis Ltd, and the chief mourners were Mrs Mary Anne Davis, the sons Charles junior and Alfred, and Charles Davis' secretary and son-in-law, Robert White. A large number of friends followed on foot, and at the grave some forty floral tributes were dispalyed. The employees formed a circle around the graveside, and the body of Charles Davis was lowered to its last resting place. It was the end of an era. (Ref. Daily Post 23 April 1914, Critic 24 April 1914, Tasmanian Mail 23 april 1914)
Charles Davis' grave can be visited at the Cornelian Bay Cemetery and is included in the guided tour of Cornelian Bay.
