South Australian Company

The South Australian Company was formed in London on 9 October 1835 by George Fife Angas and other wealthy British merchants to develop a new settlement in South Australia; its purpose was to build a new colony. The South Australian Company ended business in its own right on 17 March 1949 when it was liquidated by Elders Trustee & Executor Company Ltd, which had been managing its Australian affairs since the death of the last Colonial Manager, Arthur Muller in 1936.^[1]

Foundation

The formation of the company followed considerable lobbying by the South Australian Association, a group consisting of philanthropists, radical thinkers, dissenters and merchants. After a years of negotiation, false starts, changes and amendments to suggested charters, the British Parliament finally gave approval and passed the South Australian (Foundation) Act on 15 August 1834.^[2]

The founding Board of directors were George Fife Angas (Chairman); Raikes Currie; Charles Hindley M.P.; James Hyde; Henry Kingscote; John Pirie, Alderman; Christopher Rawson; John Rundle M.P.; Thomas Smith; James Ruddell Todd; and Henry Waymouth; with Edmund John Wheeler, Manager; Samuel Stephens, Colonial Manager; and Edward Hill, Secretary pro tem.^[3]

Arrivals of 1836

In January 1836 four ships sailed from England on behalf of the Company. They developed a settlement at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island, in July 1836, but when farming proved unviable, they transferred their settlement to the mainland. The Company provided basic infrastructure for the new colony, as well as sold or leased land to immigrants who came to settle. All told, nine ships, which may be termed the First Fleet of South Australia, arrived in the new colony:

The Commissioners

Under the Acts that established the Colony, the UK government appointed Commissioners to oversee implementation of the Acts; Thirteen based in London with a Resident Commissioner stationed in the colony. Those first appointed were Colonel Robert Torrens (Chairman), Rowland Hill (Secretary), G. Barnes (Treasurer), George Fife Angas, E. Barnard, William Hutt, J. G. Shaw-Lefevre, W. A. Mackinnon M.P., S. Mills, Jacob Barrow Montefiore, G. Palmer, and J. Wright. The first Resident Commissioner was James Hurtle Fisher.^[4]

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) ^[3][16][17] (Angas Street)
• 1848–18?? James Ruddell Todd
• 1899–1923 Henry Joslin ^[18]

Directors

• 1836–18?? Raikes Currie ^[3] (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
• 1836–18?? Henry Waymouth (Waymouth Street)
• 1880–1911 Major General Sir Stanley De A.C. Clarke, G.C.V.O., C.M.G.^[19]
• 1889–1919 Sir John H. Kennaway, Bart. C.B., M.P.^[20]
• 1891–1922 Andrew Johnston ^[21]
• 1895–1931 John Henry Grant ^[22]
• 1899–1931 Sir R.H. Hermon Hodge (later Lord Wyfold) ^[23]
• Joseph Fisher
• Robert Barr Smith
• Tom Elder Barr Smith ^[24]

Company Secretaries

• 1878–1911 James Hutchison ^[25]
• 1911–1930+ Henry Brandreth Gibbs F.C.I.S.^[26]

Attorneys in South Australia

• William Bartley ^[27]
• 1850–1906 Sir Samuel Davenport, K.C.M.G.^[28]
• 1876–1923 John Warren Bakewell ^[29]

Local Board of Advice, Adelaide

• 1841–1885 William Bartley ^[27]
• 1841–18?? Edward Stephens
• 1856–1870 William Bakewell, M.P., Crown Solicitor ^[30]
• 1876–1923 John Warren Bakewell ^[29]
• 1886-1930+ Joseph Fisher ^[31]
• 1894–1932 Sir John Lancelot Stirling K.C.M.G., M.L.C.^[32]

Accountants

• Edward Stephens
• Edward Robert Simpson (died 11 July 1900) ^[33]

Company offices

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.

• 
  First office, erected 1836 at Kingscote, Kangaroo Island. (ca.1870)
• 
  North Terrace east, corner of Gawler Place. (ca.1872)
• 
  ca.1900
• 
  ca.1909
• 
  "Gawler Chambers" ca.1914
• 
  ca.1914

List of people associated with the South Australian Company

Most of the major streets in the Adelaide city centre were named after the founding directors of the company. Naming of the settlements streets was completed on 23 May 1837 and gazetted on 3 June by the Street Naming Committee (Adelaide).

References

• Deed of settlement (Details), State Library of South Australia

Further reading

• Price, A. Grenfell, Founders & Pioneers of South Australia, Adelaide, 1929
• Sutherland, George, The South Australian Company; a study in colonisation, London; New York: Longmans, Green, 1898.
• Pearse, Malcolm, Australia's Early Managers Australia Pacific Economic and Business History Conference, Wellington, New Zealand, February 2010. p. 12
• State Library of South Australia factsheets online: South Australian Company

External links

• Copyright photo of a South Australian Company promisary note for sixpence, issue Kingscote, 1 June 1836, signed by Samuel Stephens