South Australian Company

The South Australian Company, also referred to as the South Australia Company, was formed in

The South Australian Company was a commercial enterprise, and not officially connected to the

During the first years of settlement, the company built a great deal of infrastructure and contributed to the creation of industries such as fishing and mining, and it continued to play an important part in the business affairs of the colony (and later state) of South Australia for over a hundred years. It ended business in its own right on 17 March 1949, when it was liquidated by Elders Trustee & Executor Company Ltd. Many streets in Adelaide were named after men associated with the company.

Background

The

George Fife Angas, after resigning from the association, offered to set up a company to buy up the remaining unsold land, which was agreed by the Colonisation Commissioners, so long as this new company, the South Australian Company, did not attempt to set up monopolies in the colony.[1]

The founding Board of Directors of the South Australian Company, established on 9 October 1835, were Angas as Chairman;

It was this purchase of land that enabled emigration to commence. It was purely a commercial venture, but without it, the colonisation plan would not have come to fruition.[1]

First Fleet of South Australia (1836)

After a historic meeting at

In January 1836 four ships sailed from England on behalf of the company, ahead of the Colonisation Commission's planned expedition. They developed a settlement at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island, in July 1836, but when farming proved unviable, both the settlement and the company's operations were moved to the mainland. The company provided basic infrastructure for the new colony and sold or leased land to immigrants who came to settle.^[1]

Over the course of six months, nine ships, which may be termed the First Fleet of South Australia, arrived in the new colony:^[6]

Post-settlement

During the first years of settlement, the company undertook the construction of a great deal of infrastructure: roads, bridges, mills,

The company continued to be an important part of the business affairs of Adelaide and the colony (later state) for over a hundred years.[1]

From 1872, the South Australian Company occupied offices on North Terrace on the corner of Gawler Place. The new building, "Gawler Chambers", was completed in 1914.

It was wound up on 17 March 1949, with the management of its remaining business transferred to Elders Trustee & Executor Company Ltd.^[1]

• 
  First office, erected 1836 at

  Kingscote, Kangaroo Island

  . (c. 1870)
• 
  Office on North Terrace East, corner of Gawler Place. (c. 1872)
• 
  Company office c. 1900
• 
  Company office c. 1909
• 
  "Gawler Chambers" c. 1914
• 
  Company office c. 1914

Lists of people

Colonial Managers

The colonial managers of the South Australian Company were:

• 
  David McLaren 1837–1841
• 
  William Giles 1841–1860
• 
  William Brind 1861–1894
• 
  Henry Sparks 1894–1900
• 
  Henry Moore

  1901–1929
• 
  Arthur Muller

  1930–1936

Officers of the company

Most of the major streets in the Adelaide city centre were named after the founding directors of the company

Chairmen

• 1836–1848 George Fife Angas (1789–1879) ^[2][19][20] (Angas Street)
• 1848–18?? James Ruddell Todd
• 1886–1888 Sir John Rose^[21][22]
• 1889–1897 Charles Gay Roberts^[23][24]
• 1898–1898 Godfrey Webb^[25]
• 1899–1923 Henry Joslin ^[26]

Directors

• 1836–18?? Raikes Currie^[2] (Currie Street)
• 1836–18?? Charles Hindley (Hindley Street)
• 1836–18?? James Hyde
• 1836–18?? Henry Kingscote
• 1836–18??
  John Pirie (Pirie Street
  )
• 1836–18?? Christopher Rawson
• 1836–18?? John Rundle (Rundle Street)
• 1836–18?? Thomas Smith
• 1836–18?? James Ruddell Todd
• 1836–1848 Henry Waymouth (Waymouth Street; died 23 January 1848^[27])
• 1880–1911 Major General Sir Stanley De A.C. Clarke, G.C.V.O., C.M.G.^[28]
• 1889–1919 Sir John H. Kennaway, Bart. C.B., M.P.^[29]
• 1891–1922 Andrew Johnston ^[30]
• 1895–1931 John Henry Grant ^[31]
• 1899–1931 Sir R.H. Hermon Hodge (later Lord Wyfold) ^[32]
• Joseph Fisher
• Robert Barr Smith
• Tom Elder Barr Smith^[33]

Company Secretaries

• 1878–1911 James Hutchison ^[34]
• 1911–1930+ Henry Brandreth Gibbs F.C.I.S.^[35]

Attorneys in South Australia

• William Bartley ^[36]
• 1850–1906 Sir Samuel Davenport, K.C.M.G.^[37]
• 1876–1923 John Warren Bakewell ^[38]

Local Board of Advice, Adelaide

• 1841–1885 William Bartley ^[36]
• 1841–18?? Edward Stephens
• 1856–1870 William Bakewell, M.P., Crown Solicitor ^[39]
• 1876–1923 John Warren Bakewell ^[38]
• 1886-1930+ Joseph Fisher^[40]
• 1894–1932 Sir
  John Lancelot Stirling K.C.M.G., M.L.C.^[41]

• Edward Stephens
• Edward Robert Simpson (died 11 July 1900) ^[42]

Others associated with the company

Most of the major streets in the

See also

• British colonisation of South Australia
• Colonial Land and Emigration Commission
• History of South Australia

References