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Richard Smith (businessman)

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For other businessmen named Richard Smith, see Richard Smith (disambiguation) § Other.

Richard Smith-CEO Harris Scarfe

Richard Smith (27 July 1836[a] – 27 March 1919) was a partner and managing director of the Adelaide, South Australia, firm of George P. Harris, Scarfe & Co., later known as Harris Scarfe. His son Harold Law-Smith was prominent in the history of the company.

History

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Smith was born in Westerham[1] or Brasted, Kent, son of William Smith and Ann Smith, née Solomon.[2] He received a good education and worked for a firm of ironmongers in Coventry.

He came to South Australia in June 1863 aboard the Countess of Fife,[3] under engagement to the firm of George P. Harris of Hindley Street,[b] and transferred to Gawler Place in 1864.[1] Smith was employed as a travelling salesman, serving customers in the rapidly developing districts of the South East and Yorke Peninsula. Smith was the ideal man for the job — knowledgeable, tireless and reliable, ever on the lookout for fresh fields to conquer, yet not one for self-aggrandizement — and was taken on as a partner in 1866. Around this time Harris also took on George Scarfe as a partner, and the business became Geo. P. Harris, Scarfe, & Co. in December 1866,[4] with Smith as managing director. The company never looked back, but grew into one of the largest firm of traders in the Southern Hemisphere, with a reputation for good products and a fair deal.

Around December 1918 Smith's health began to fail, and only attended his office intermittently, then died after a few weeks' incapacity. The funeral took place on 28 March 1919[5] and his remains interred in the family vault, Brighton Cemetery.[5]

Other interests

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From the 1890s Smith was involved with other commercial concerns. He was a director of

  • Mutual Life Insurance Company of Australasia
  • Executor Trustee and Agency Co. of South Australia
  • United Insurance Co. of Australasia
  • Stannary Hills Mining Co.
  • Adelaide Rope, Nail, and Barbed Wire Co.
  • Adelaide Chemical and Fertiliser Co.

and was a

  • foundation and life member of the SA Commercial Travellers' Association Inc.[c][1]
  • councillor with the Town of Glenelg and Mayor in the three terms 1893 to 1895
  • fine tennis player and in later life an enthusiastic bowler, one of the mainstays of the Glenelg club
  • contributor to patriotic causes during the Great War
  • sponsor of the Soldiers' Memorial Hall at St Peter's College
  • breeder of high-grade Shropshire sheep[1] at "Sweetholme", his 1,200 acres (490 ha) property at Strathalbyn.
  • breeder of shorthorn cattle at "Nomgetty" station of 35,000 acres (14,000 ha) in Western Australia.[2]

Recognition

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A window in St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide was dedicated to his memory

Family

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Richard Smith (born 1836) married Emma Law (1844 – 13 March 1918), daughter of John Law (died 1887?) on 20 March 1869. They had a home "Woodlands" at Partridge-street, Glenelg. They had five daughters and five sons, many of whom used "Law Smith" as a though it were a surname:

  • Bertha Law Smith (4 Feb 1870 – 1947) married Harold Charles Downer (1865 – 1921) on 17 February 1909. He was a son of Henry Edward Downer ( –1905), lived at "Sweet Home Farm", Strathalbyn
  • Edith Smith (10 December 1871 – 22 August 1947)
  • Harold Law Smith (31 December 1973 – 1955) (director of Harris, Scarfe & Co.) living at Glenelg in 1953
  • Percival "Percy" Law Smith (11 July 1875 – ) married Violet Hilda Shenton, daughter of Sir George Shenton on 10 January 1907.[6] He was manager of the Perth branch of Harris, Scarfe, later living in Melbourne.
  • Gertrude Emma Law Smith (1876 –1941 ) married William Margary Hole ( – ) on 27 August 1904,[7] lived in Adelaide.
  • Mabel Law Smith (1878 – ) married (later Sir) Herbert Sydney Hudd (25 February 1881 – 30 April 1948) on 7 May 1919,[8] living at Glenelg in 1953
  • (Richard) Edgar Law Smith (29 May 1881 – )
  • Walter Henry Law Smith (7 Feb 1883 – 18 December 1953)[9] married Agnes Giles on 2 December 1909
  • (Charles) Gordon Law Smith (23 June 1885 – 24 April 1960) fought in Palestine, married Molly Hawkes on 9 March 1920; lived at Gawler.
  • Catherine Ellen "Nelly" Law Smith (died 26 December 1946) married Max W. Cooksey (died May 1938), lived in Sussex. She was a champion golfer.

References

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  1. ^ An earlier reference gives his YOB as 1839
  2. ^ The business was Lanyon & Harris until 1855, when the founder John C. Lanyon left for London
  3. ^ From 1890 known as South Australian Commercial Travellers and Warehousemen's Association Inc.
  1. ^ a b c d "Men and Matters". The Evening Journal (Adelaide). South Australia. 6 September 1910. p. 1. Retrieved 10 May 2020 – via Trove.
  2. ^ a b Marjorie Findlay (1976). "Australian Dictionary of Biography: Smith, Richard (1836–1919)". National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Advertising". South Australian Register. South Australia. 25 June 1863. p. 1. Retrieved 10 May 2020 – via Trove.
  4. ^ "Advertising". The Adelaide Express. South Australia. 21 December 1866. p. 2. Retrieved 8 May 2020 – via Trove.
  5. ^ a b "A Merchant Prince". The Express and Telegraph. South Australia. 28 March 1919. p. 1. Retrieved 10 May 2020 – via Trove.
  6. ^ "Family Notices". The West Australian. Western Australia. 11 January 1907. p. 2. Retrieved 12 May 2020 – via Trove.
  7. ^ "Family Notices". Evening Journal. South Australia. 31 August 1904. p. 1. Retrieved 12 May 2020 – via Trove.
  8. ^ "Personal". Observer. South Australia. 17 May 1919. p. 30. Retrieved 12 May 2020 – via Trove.
  9. ^ "Death Of Mr. W. Law-Smith". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 21 December 1953. p. 14. Retrieved 12 May 2020 – via Trove.

10. Death Of Richard Smith-The Merchant Prince-Via Trove

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