W. H. Burford and Sons was a soap and candle-making business founded in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1840 by

William Henville Burford William Henville Burford (24 January 1807 – 23 October 1895) was an apprenticed butcher with some experience as a tallow merchant and chandler in Cannon Street, St George's East, in the East End of London. In 1838 he emigrated to South Austr ...

(1807–1895), an English butcher who arrived in the new colony in 1838. It was one of the earliest soapmakers in Australia, and up to the 1960s when it closed, the oldest. In 1878 he took his two sons Benjamin and William into partnership as W. H. Burford & Sons. Its expansion, (in the latter part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century, at the hands of son

William Burford W. H. Burford and Sons was a soap and candle-making business founded in Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Gr ...

) accompanied by a number of takeovers, made it the dominant soap manufacturer in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Its founders were noted public figures in the young city of Adelaide. W. H. Burford and Sons was in turn taken over by J. Kitchen & Sons, who became Lever & Kitchen, part of the British

Lever Brothers Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making p ...

empire, which in 1930 merged with Dutch

Margarine Unie Naamloze Vennootschap Margarine Unie (English: Margarine Union Limited) was a Dutch company formed in 1927 in Oss by the merger of four margarine companies, Antoon Jurgens United, Van den Bergh's, Centra, and Schicht's. Margarine Unie was the dom ...

to form the multi-national

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

W. H. Burford and Sons

Factories

W. H. Burford's first factory was on the corner of

Grenfell Street Grenfell Street () is a major street in the north-east quarter of the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. The street runs west-east from King William Street to East Terrace. On the other side of King William Street, it continues as Currie S ...

and

East Terrace __NOTOC__ East Terrace marks the eastern edge of the Adelaide city centre. It is one of the main north–south thoroughfares through the east side of the city. Although the terrace essentially runs north–south between North Terrace and South ...

, later the site of an Adelaide Electric Supply Company's building, (AESC became the Electricity Trust of S.A. – ETSA – in 1946) and in 1989, the

Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute The Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, usually referred to as Tandanya, is an art museum located on Grenfell Street in Adelaide, South Australia. It specialises in promoting Indigenous Australian art, including visual art, music an ...

. Initially it was little more than a tin shed in a vacant field. During one of the recessions that faced the colony, Burford was forced to sell the land then lease it back to keep the business running. The second factory, opened in 1900 at Sturt Street, previously owned by competitor Tidmarsh & Co,Messrs W. H. Burford & Co's (sic) Jubilee
''The Advertiser'' 4 November 1890 p.6 accessed 8 July 2011 occupied 4 acres of floor space ( 19,000 sq yards / 16,000m² / 1.6 hectares ) and employed over 200 men. Its most salient feature was the brick chimney – 152 ft 4in (46.5m) in height and a flue diameter of 4 ft (1.2m), and still standing (though no longer used). The boiler room housed four boilers, one of which was 27 ft long and 7 ft 6in in diameter (8.2m x 2.3m) and the largest to have been built in South Australia. The still-room had six large stills: four for distillation of stearine and two for glycerine. The building was organised so that manufacture started on the top floor and progressed by chutes or conveyors to the second floor for wrapping and packaging, thence to the ground floor, all with a minimum of handling.An Immense Industrial Concern
''South Australian Register'' 9 June 1900 p.4 accessed 5 July 2011 The smell emanating from the Sturt Street factory, despite installation of deep drainage, was the source of much complaint from neighbours. In 1887 Burfords took over Apollo Soap Ltd of Adam Street, Hindmarsh. The factory, which continued to be called the "Apollo Works", was the site of work mostly peripheral to the core business of soap and candle making, such as rendering down of animal fats and grinding of corn, bone, starch and blacking, and the manufacture of wooden packing crates. In 1888 they took over Frearson's Printing Works, whose factory was also on Adam Street. These premises were destroyed by fire on 25 December 1907. In February 1919 the Sturt Street premises were destroyed by fire. Rather than rebuild in the city, a new factory was set up in Dry Creek near the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

where there had once been a smelter. Manufacture resumed in 1922. Much was made at the time of a model suburb to serve employees of the soap works and the nearby abattoirs. "Burford Garden Suburb" as it was named, was designed by W. J. Earle, the town planner behind Cadbury's model town at

Claremont, Tasmania Claremont is a rural / residential locality in the local government areas (LGA) of Glenorchy (75%) and Derwent Valley (25%) in the Hobart and South-east LGA regions of Tasmania. The locality is about north of the town of Glenorchy. The 2016 ...

.An Old-Established Business
''The Register'' 31 May 1922 p.8 accessed 4 July 2011 The Dry Creek lots were snapped up immediately they were offered for sale.Burford Gardens – Wonderful Public Enthusiasm
''The Mail'' 14 April 1923 p.1 accessed 8 July 2011 The greater part of the Sturt Street property was sold around the same time. "Burford Gardens" as the name of a suburb has since vanished, though its streets remain: Flame Avenue, Gum Avenue, Wattle Avenue, Grevillea Avenue and Bushwood Avenue, all in what is now known as Dry Creek. In Western Australia, the

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

factory opened in 1897. After taking over the Swan Soap and Candle Company Ltd., the Rocky Bay factory opened in 1899, and

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

factories opened later. In 1924 Burford's merged with rival soap makers J. Kitchen and Sons of Melbourne and

of Sydney as Australian Producers Co-Partnership Ltd. In 1928 Kitchen's Fremantle factory was destroyed by fire, and Burford's was able to make up the shortfall by manufacturing to Kitchen specifications, the product being wrapped, packed and distributed by the Kitchen factory. This opened the way for further rationalization, and by 1937 all Burford factories were under the control of J Kitchen & Sons. In 1932 Associated Producers became Associated Enterprises Pty Ltd, renamed Lever Associated Enterprises Pty Ltd in 1944. By 1948 production by Burfords in Adelaide had been wound down and in 1957 Unilever (Australia) bought out W. H. Burford & Sons.

Products

Products manufactured during the history of W. H. Burford & Sons include: *Soaps: "Burford's Prize No 1" soap, "Signal" soap, mottled soap, yellow soap, transparent soap, White Naptha soap, Apollo laundry soap in various sized bars, Borax soap, "Sayso" carbolic family soap, "Snowflakes" extract of soap powder, Dr Bayley's medicated soap, sulphur soap, White Dove soap, and kerosene soap (foliage spray for controlling insects) *"Exhibition" candles, carriage candles, bedroom candles, piano candles *"Brunswick" stove blacking *"Excelsior" blacklead *Linoleum polish ("Roylat" brand in Western Australia) *Boot polish, boot cream *"Swansdown" starch *Soda crystals *Magic Egg Preserver ( waterglass) *"Southern Sky" washing

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

*Snow-white starch *Lubricating oils *Greases *Bone manure

Public nuisance

When Burford's soapworks and Peacock's tannery were founded on Grenfell Street, there were no residences nearby; nothing but virgin bushland. But as the population grew nearby (and to some extent attracted by the businesses), the number of complaints about smells grew until, in 1866, a case was brought against Burford in the Supreme Court. The jury appeared to be convinced by the argument that the complainants had chosen to build knowing what trades were carried on there so had no right to complain, and found for the defendant. The Council had other plans. In 1919 it offered Burfords £12,000 as an incentive to move out of the city altogether. The offer was turned down, so the Council amended the Health Act to prohibit such industries, then the fire engulfed the factory and the Dry Creek facility moved a big step towards reality.

Fires

In 1885 a fire which started in a timber yard in Grenfell Street and East Terrace spread to Burford's factory, which was destroyed. This led to the establishment of a factory in Sturt Street.Mr. W. Burford – a Large-Hearted Citizen
''The Register'' 7 March 1925 p.13 accessed 4 July 2011 On 25 December 1907, the factory on Adam Street, Hindmarsh, "The Apollo Works" was destroyed in one of the greatest fires in Adelaide's history, along with neighbouring skin dealers Wilcox and Co. in Torrens Street (now named River Street). The nearby factory of G. H. Michell & Sons and David Reid's tannery suffered lesser damage. In 1919 the works bounded by Sturt,

Gilbert Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South ...

, Norman and Russell Streets in the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

were destroyed by fire and a new factory was then set up in Dry Creek; the office area was rebuilt and the rest sold.

Competitors

Other early soap and candle makers of South Australia included: *

J. H. M. Hawkes John Henry Mason Hawkes (9 July 1851 – 5 May 1944) was a businessman in the early days of Adelaide, South Australia History Hawkes was born in Goodwood, South Australia, the eldest surviving son of John Henry Mason Hawkes (c. 1827 – 14 Octob ...

* J. Tidmarsh & Co. * Walker Brothers *Apollo Soap and Candle factory at Adams Street, Hindmarsh. (est. 1881) was taken over by W. H. Burford. *Bunyip Soaps (1898 – ca.1955) had a factory at Winwood Street, Southwark, and became

Crompton Bunyip Soaps Ltd Joseph Crompton (17 January 1840 – 27 April 1901) was a vigneron, manufacturer and exporter who founded several companies in the early days of the colony of South Australia. The eastern foothills suburb of Stonyfell was named after the propert ...

. (c. 1955 – c. 1991) It was still trading in 1962 with offices at 49 Flinders Street, Adelaide, and factory at Winwood St, Thebarton.Sands & McDougall's Directory, 1962 ed. p.1633 The other major Australian soap manufacturer was J. Kitchen & Sons of Melbourne, which dominated the Eastern States much as Burfords had dominated South and Western Australia.

of England had a factory in Sydney and one in

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

Merger and Acquisition

In 1924, Lever and Kitchen and W. H. Burford & Sons formed Australian Producers Partnership Pty Ltd. Burford ordinary shares were held by Lever and Kitchen; around 1962 after a few more takeovers the parent company was renamed Unilever. The Burford's factory was still running profitably in the mid-50s, and the factory at Dry Creek was still listed as such in 1962; the office at 83 Sturt Street still bore the Burford's name, alongside that of its nominal owner J. Kitchen & Sons Ltd, Rexona Pty. Ltd. and Lever Brothers Pty. Ltd.

William Burford

William Burford (11 December 1845 – 6 March 1925) was born in a cottage at 154

, Adelaide, adjacent to his father's factory. He was educated first at the

Church of England Grammar School The Anglican Church Grammar School (ACGS), formerly the Church of England Grammar School and commonly referred to as Churchie, is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located in East Brisbane, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Q ...

Pulteney Street Pulteney Street is a main road which runs north-south through the middle of the eastern half of the Adelaide city centre, in Adelaide, South Australia. It runs north-south from North Terrace, through Hindmarsh and Hurtle Squares, to South ...

then, with brother Benjamin, at J. L. Young's

Adelaide Educational Institution Adelaide Educational Institution was a privately run non-sectarian academy for boys in Adelaide founded in 1852 by John Lorenzo Young.B. K. Hyams'Young, John Lorenzo (1826–1881)' ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 6, Melbourne Unive ...

in Stephens Place. Leaving school, he joined his father's business. In 1878 he and his brother Benjamin were taken into partnership, but after about eight years the latter withdrew from the enterprise. In 1868, while on holiday in New Zealand, William visited a soap works which boiled soap using steam rather than fire. On his return to Adelaide he wasted no time in getting his father to adopt this method. He was chairman of directors of the company from 1895 until his death, in his Belair home (on Sheoak Road) called " Birralee". When he took the reins, the company had 6 employees; at the time of his death it had grown to over 500 spread over several factories, though his time as a hands-on manager had long since passed.

Philanthropy and Public Works

William Burford's many offices, services and philanthropic deeds included: :Justice of the Peace from 1890 to 1893. :For over 60 years he was a member of the council of the Chamber of Manufactures, and served both as president and vice-president. :For some years he was a member of the Adelaide Hospital Board, resigning in 1913. :He was on the committee of the Home for Incurables. :He was on the board of the Adelaide Licensing Bench from 1902. :For 12 years he served as a member of the

Unley Council The City of Unley is a local government area in the Adelaide metropolitan region. It is located directly south of the Adelaide city centre. The Corporate Town of Unley was created in 1871, when 2,000 signatories to a petition from residents o ...

. :He was alderman and councillor on the

Glenelg Council The City of Holdfast Bay is a local government area in the south-western coastal suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. History The council was formed 1 January 1997, when the City of Glenelg and City of Brighton councils were amalgamated b ...

. :He was a vice-president of the Industrial School for the Blind and

Royal Institution for the Blind Vision Australia is a not-for-profit organisation and Australia's largest provider of services for people with blindness and low vision. Background Vision Australia was created in 2004 through the merger of 4 smaller blindness organisations: ...

from its foundation, and of the organising committee for its Great Floral Fair. :He was treasurer of

Adelaide City Mission Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The demo ...

until 1902. :He was on the board of the Adelaide Benevolent and Strangers' Friend Society. :He was on the board of the Belair Inebriate Retreat. :He was a life member of the Adelaide

Y.M.C.A. YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, and its president from 1914. :He was, like his father, a lifelong member of the Church of Christ, originally with the

Grote Street Grote Street is a major street running east to west in the western half of Adelaide city centre, in Adelaide, South Australia. It is on the northern border of Chinatown and the Adelaide Central Market, and is a lively centre for shopping and re ...

Church, then

Unley Unley is an inner-southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, within the City of Unley. The suburb is the home of the Sturt Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Unley neighbours Adelaide Park Lands, Fullar ...

and Glenelg, which were established largely due to his generosity. :He donated his property in Unley to the Church of Christ, to assist in establishing Ellerslie College, a Church of Christ school for girls at Magill Road,

Magill ''Magill'' was an Irish politics and current affairs magazine founded by Vincent Browne and others in 1977. ''Magill'' specialised in investigative articles and colourful reportage by journalists such as Eamonn McCann (who wrote its anonymous ' ...

. :For over 30 years he supported Church missions to India and China. :He was a generous supporter of the

British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The Soc ...

. Mrs Burford was a prominent member of the Wattle Blossom League (later

Wattle Day League Wattle Day is a day of celebration in Australia on the first day of September each year, which is the official start of the Australian spring. This is the time when many ''Acacia'' species (commonly called wattles in Australia), are in flower. So, ...

) and held an annual function at "Monomeith", the Burfords' summer residence at Ashton.

Recreation

He was a life member of the South Australian Cricket Association and a member of the East Adelaide Cricket Club. In his later years he was a serious bowls player. He was a keen yachtsman, was a member of the Holdfast Bay Sailing Club (and Vice-commodore in 1896) and with son F. R. Burford owned the yacht Empress 1894 – 1896.

Family of William Burford

William married Mary Richardson (c. 1845 – 12 May 1921) on 11 November 1867. She died at their home " Birralee", in Glenelg. Their 53 year marriage produced eleven children, of whom five sons and four daughters survived childhood. All five sons went into the family business: *William Henville Burford II (1 November 1868 – 27 May 1947) married Alice Louise Carr on 17 September 1891 *Two daughters Nell Burford and Violet Lillian Burford *Frederick Rumsey Burford (10 or 30 April 1870 – 14 August 1928 at Glenelg) married Elizabeth Genevieve Kellery *Hubert Henry Richardson Burford (22 Mar 1872 – 8 Nov 1907 in Sydney, two weeks after wedding) married Annie Morish on 23 October 1907 *Lillian May Burford – b: 2 March 1874. m: Thomas Eyres 13 October 1899 *Evaline Sarah Burford (10 February 1876 – 6 Apr 1961, Fullarton) married Horace Cansfield Park on 11 November 1919. Evaline lived in Birralee, Belair in the 1930s *Emily Finlayson "Emmie" Burford (10 Jun 1878 – 23 Oct 1953) never married – lived at Birralee, Belair in the 1920s and 1930s. *Horace Edgar Colls Burford (11 September 1881 – 24 Jan 1947) married Sibyl Freda Jay on 11 November 1915 *James Clifford Burford (6 October 1883 – 6 Feb 1970, Fullarton) married Margaret Mary Marshall, who died in 1920s. He was Detective Inspector of Customs. Lived at Birralee, Belair in 1930s. **Only daughter Gwenyth Marshall Burford – engaged to Ronald F Angel, 18 February 1936 but married Wilfred Douglas Verco, 8 August 1938 ***Richard Verco *Alice Gertrude Marion "Allie Marian" Burford (30 Jan 1886 – 7 September 1925 at her residence, Birralee, Belair) married Octavius Cyril Beale, eighth son of

Octavius Beale Octavius Charles Beale (23 February 1850 – 16 December 1930) was an Irish-born Australian piano manufacturer and a philanthropist. Beale formed a company to import sewing machines and pianos in 1879, after which he established Australia's first ...

of 'Llanarth', Burwood NSW, on 11 November 1914; her parents' wedding anniversary, a tradition followed by several of her siblings **Two daughters: Beverley Burford Beale and Megan Beale After the death of his wife, he sold the Glenelg mansion "Birralee" on Albert Terrace and Seawall, in September 1921, and the summer home "Monomeith", on 3 acres (1.2 ha) at

Ashton, South Australia Ashton is a town in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. It was named by George Hunt in 1858 after his home Ashton in England. Ashton is from the old English word 'aesctun', which means 'ash tree town'. General information The Ashton Gene ...

, in 1922.Home in the Hills (advt.)
(Property at Ashton) ''The Register'' 30 November 1922 p.5 accessed 8 July 2011 By 1921, both the Monomeith and Birralee Glenelg properties were mostly used by Mrs. Burford and her daughters. He died on 6 March 1925 at his " Birralee, Belair" home on Sheoak Road in Belair, located next to the

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

and overlooking the Adelaide Plains. He had suffered a heart attack a year previously. At some stage he had married the widow of William Finlayson jun. and she nursed him in his final years.

Sources

*The State Library of South Australia has a useful index of Burford articles at http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/manning/pn/b/b31.htm#burfordG *and of the factories in Hindmarsh at http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/manning/pn/h/hindmar.htm#factories

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:W. H. Burford and Sons

Burford Burford () is a town on the River Windrush, in the Cotswolds, Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is often referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located west of Oxford and southeas ...

Manufacturing plants in Australia Australian companies established in 1840 Unilever companies Manufacturing companies established in 1840