Charles Davis Limited was a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

company established in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

in 1847 and is one of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

's oldest companies. It had several businesses across the surrounding states in industries such as manufacturing, boating including yachts and races and hardware and electrical equipment. The company was founded by Charles Davis, an Englishman who had been transported to the Tasmanian penal colony as a convict. He established a hardware, ironmongery and tinsmithing business which grew to become one of Tasmania's major business enterprises including moving it to Hobart's Cat and Fiddle Alley where it remained into the 1970s. Davis fully owned the company until in 1911, at age 87, when he limited himself to a chairman, and his family continued to operate the company until the 1970s. Sir Donald Trescowthick took over control of the business from the Davis family in the 1970s and the company embarked on significant expansion and diversification under his management. At various times, the company had investments in wholesaling, retailing, car distribution, property, hotels and motels and mining. In 1971, Sir Donald Trescowthick gained a majority shareholding of 54 percent through his company Signet Insurance Group, which was a company with assets of $27 million an annual turnover of $35 million and eventually renamed as

Harris Scarfe Harris Scarfe is an Australian retailer that sells bed linen, kitchenware, homewares, electrical appliances and apparel. It has a e-commerce retail presence in Australia and is considered a multi-channel lifestyle and homewares store. Founded in ...

Holdings Limited in 1995. The company factory and original shop closed in 1984. After the church change of name, the company focused on its department store activities and divested all other business activities. At its height, the company was Australia's third largest retailer (November 1989), after acquiring many significant regional retailers, including

, Cox Foys,

FitzGerald's Department Stores FitzGerald's Department Stores (FitzGerald's) was Tasmania's largest chain of Department store, department stores. The chain was rebranded and relaunched as Harris Scarfe in 1995, and the renamed stores continue to trade today. History FitzG ...

, Lloyd's hardware stores,

Campbell's Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to become ...

hardware stores and McEwans. In 1970, Charles Davis Limited negotiated with American-based

Kline Iron and Steel Kline Iron and Steel was a company based in Columbia, South Carolina. Established on February 23, 1923, as Kline Iron and Metal Co., since 1953 was primarily known for the construction of broadcast towers. This includes the world's tallest compl ...

to bring lightweight steel roofing trusses to the United States. Philips Industries of

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...

was acquired in 1974, giving the company presence in each of the state's three main regions, south,

Burnie, Tasmania Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. When founded in 1827, it was named Emu Bay, being renamed after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, in the early 1840s. , Burnie had an urban popu ...

in the northwest. In 1975, Charles Davis Limited was a sponsor of the

Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race Commonly known as the Westcoaster, the Melbourne to Hobart Ocean Yacht Race also known as M2H commences from Port Phillip, Victoria and concludes in Hobart, Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map ...

. The McEwans hardware stores group was divested in a management buyout in 1988. At this time, the company merged its Harris Scarfe and FitzGerald's retailing operations, which continued to grow to become Australia's third largest department store group. It also once owned interests in Perpetual Insurance and Securities, owner of

Eastlands Shopping Centre Eastlands is Tasmania's largest shopping centre; it is located on the eastern side of the Derwent River, in the shopping district of Rosny Park, and within the greater area of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It has a gross lettable area of about ...

which increased from 83 % to 91 % in 1973-1974 and also in Co-Operative Motors Ltd, manufacturer of

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

Triumph Motor Company The Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company in the 19th and 20th centuries. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg formed S. Bettmann & Co. and started importing bicycles from Eu ...

Mercedes Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

and

Rambler Rambler or Ramble may refer to: Places * Rambler, Wyoming * Rambler Channel (藍巴勒海峽), separates Tsing Yi Island and the mainland New Territories in Hong Kong * The Ramble and Lake, Central Park, an area within New York City's Centra ...

. After suffering financial difficulties, the company was placed in receivership in 2001 and the Charles Davis name was bought by Davis's great-great granddaughter for $A120.

References

{{reflist * Harris Scarfe Holdings Limited Annual Report 2000.

External links

Company records and photos throughout company lifeAdditional photos of company interests
Companies based in Tasmania Companies based in Hobart Defunct department stores of Australia Retail companies established in 1847 Retail companies disestablished in 2001 Australian companies established in 1847 Australian companies disestablished in 2001