Duncan & Fraser

Duncan & Fraser
Founded January 1865
Founder James Duncan
James Fraser
Defunct August 1927
Headquarters Adelaide
Products Horse drawn carriages
Railway carriages
Tram bodies
Motor vehicle bodies

Duncan and Fraser Limited was an Australian vehicle manufacturing company that built horse-drawn vehicles and bodies for trains, trams and motor cars in Adelaide, South Australia. Duncan and Fraser also held and operated motor distributorships and dealerships.

By 1927 the construction of Ford Model T bodies had become the principal activity. The succeeding Model A Ford required an all steel body which Ford decided would be made in Canada and assembled in Ford's own factory at Geelong. In view of the loss of most of Duncan and Fraser's income the shareholders voted to close their business in August 1927.

Carriages

A new wagonette manufactured by Duncan & Fraser, outside the company’s factory at 42 Franklin Street in 1905. This type was widely used to pick up passengers from horse trams.

In January 1865, when South Australia had been settled by Europeans for three decades, two Scottish immigrants, coach builder James Duncan and coach painter James Fraser, formed a private company, Duncan & Fraser. Having initially operated out of premises at 37 Franklin Street, Adelaide in January 1870 it moved to 42 Franklin Street.[1]

Rail vehicles

Horse-drawn tram built 1887 for the Ballarat Tramway Co

In 1873 Duncan & Fraser were commissioned to build two railway carriages for the Adelaide, Glenelg & Suburban Railway Company. In 1876 the company assembled Adelaide's first 20 horse-drawn trams imported by the Adelaide & Suburban Tramway Company from John Stephenson & Co, New York.[1][2]

In 1884, 16 acres of land was secured adjacent to the Port Adelaide railway line at Kilkenny. After Fraser died in August 1886, Duncan bought out his share from his widow, however the trading name remained unchanged.[1]

Duncan & Fraser diversified into the construction of tram bodies, becoming one of Australia's leading carriage building firms.[3] The company completed 120 A, B, C and D types for the Adelaide network as well as A, C, D, E, F, G, H, M, N, O, P, S, T, U and V class trams for the Melbourne network. It also built trams for the State Electricity Commission of Victoria's Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong systems.[1][4][5]

Cars

Bodies

This Duncan & Fraser newspaper advertisement showed two types of tram cars built for Adelaide's Municipal Tramways Trust in 1908–09.

In 1900 Duncan & Fraser completed its first automobile body for Lewis Cycle Works.

Dealerships

In May 1903 Duncan & Fraser secured the Oldsmobile automobile agency. A showroom, complete with a salesman, spare parts, accessories, clothing and driving instruction was established, a first for South Australia. In 1906, the existing factory was replaced by a new two storey factory. After Duncan died on 2 July 1908, the business was taken over by his four sons, James, Robert, Archie and Richard.[1] Duncan & Fraser secured more automobile agencies, including the Orient Buckboard, Argyll, Standard, Singer, Chalmers and BSA.

Ford

In August 1909, it secured the sole distributorship for the Ford Model T for South Australia and Broken Hill.[1][6]

Cars being repaired in a Duncan & Fraser workshop about 1925.

The Ford Motor Company in Canada was unhappy about most of the Australian Ford distributors selling other makes. Thus Duncan & Fraser annexed the Ford agency. In October 1920 Duncan Motors was formed to sell and service all Ford products with Duncan & Fraser selling all other makes. In the early 1920s Duncan & Fraser secured the Studebaker car agency. The Kilkenny site was sold to Holden Motor Bodies and a new factory specially designed to manufacture cars built in Mile End. Rectangular in shape, it allowed for an assembly line type process, similar to the system implemented in 1913 by Henry Ford in Detroit to manufacture the Ford Model T.[1]

On 21 February 1923, the Franklin Street factory was destroyed by fire. Temporary buildings and workshops were rented in various parts of Adelaide. A new three storey factory opened on the Frankilin Street site in August 1924. In March 1925 the Ford Motor Company of Australia was formed in Geelong, with bodies initially built by Duncan & Fraser and supplied through Duncan Motors. By May 1926 body panels were being imported by Ford Australia directly from Ford Canada and assembled in Geelong.[1]

In August 1927, Ford Canada announced that production of the Ford Model T would cease. Ford Australia followed suit a week later. All the Ford agents including Duncan Motors were informed that they would not have any Ford cars to sell for an estimated 12 months whilst the factories in retooled for the new Model A.

Voluntary liquidation

Faced with no Ford bodies to build and no Fords to sell and because Duncan & Fraser's other car agencies were unprofitable the directors decided to recommend to the shareholders that the business be wound up. In August 1927, after 62 years, Duncan & Fraser closed.[7]

Duncan and Fraser's premises were taken over by competitor TJ Richards & Sons during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A Brief Company History Duncan & Fraser
  2. ↑ "The new tramway cars". The SA Register. (Original, Adelaide. Digital reproduction, Canberra: National Library of Australia (Trove digital newspaper archive)). 7 September 1877. p. 5. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  3. ↑ Radcliffe, J.C.; Steele, C.J.M. (1974). Adelaide road passenger transport, 1836–1958. Adelaide: Libraries board of South Australia. p. 39. ISBN 0-7243-0045-7.
  4. ↑ North Melbourne & Electric Tramway & Lighting Company No 13 Melbourne Tram Museum
  5. ↑ Horse Tram No 1 Ballarat Tramway Museum
  6. ↑ Ford Model T National Motor Museum
  7. ↑ Duncan and Fraser Going into Liquidation. The Advertiser Mon 22 Aug 1927 Page 13

Growth of Duncan & Fraser Limited. The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931) Sat 20 Nov 1926 Page 18

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