Francis Clark and Sons

Francis Clark and Son was an engineering business in the early days of South Australia, which later became Francis Clark and Sons.

Francis Clark (1799–1853), previously a silversmith and magistrate in Birmingham, England, founded Francis Clark and Son, importers, with his son J. Howard Clark as accountant soon after migrating to Adelaide with his family in 1850. He then brought in A. Sidney Clark as manager,[1] becoming Francis Clark and Sons, hardware importers and shipping agents of Blyth Street. With the death of the founder in 1853, A. Sidney Clark became sole owner, shifting the company's focus towards real estate, insurance and finance, and in 1871, with the firm of Clark and Crompton (see Henry Clark below), moved to offices in Grenfell Street[2] close to King William Street. It narrowly survived destruction when the adjacent photographic studio of Townsend Duryea was destroyed by fire on 18 April 1875.[3]

They branched out into stationary engines and other machinery around 1875, with day-to-day operations managed by Joseph Horwood in premises on Gresham Street and North Terrace,[4] moving to Blyth Street in 1878. The company was declared insolvent in 1884 but was permitted by its creditors to continue trading.[5] In 1886, with the departure of M. Symonds Clark, it became Francis H. Clark & Co. The company ceased trading in 1893.

  1. ^ "Personal". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 18 February 1908. p. 6. Retrieved 17 June 2020 – via Trove.
  2. ^ "Advertising". South Australian Register. South Australia. 29 May 1871. p. 1. Retrieved 17 June 2020 – via Trove. Francis Clark & Sons And Clark & Crompton have Removed from Blyth-street to Grenfell-Street, between the Register Office and King William-street.
  3. ^ "Removal". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 22 April 1875. p. 5 Supplement: Supplement to the South Australian Register. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  4. ^ Business notices South Australian Register 25 October 1876 Supplement p.4 accessed 15 June 2011
  5. ^ "Insolvencies". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 29 March 1884. p. 3 Supplement: Supplement to the South Australian Register. Retrieved 22 January 2012.