Francis Clark and Son was an engineering business in the early days of

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 ...

, which later became Francis Clark and Sons. Francis Clark (1799–1853), previously a silversmith and magistrate in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England, founded Francis Clark and Son, importers, with his son J. Howard Clark as accountant soon after migrating to

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 ...

with his family in 1850. He then brought in A. Sidney Clark as manager, becoming Francis Clark and Sons, hardware importers and

shipping agent A shipping agency or shipping agent is the designated person or agency held responsible for handling shipments and cargo, and the general interests of its customers, at ports and harbors worldwide, on behalf of ship owners, managers, and charte ...

s 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 close to King William Street. It narrowly survived destruction when the adjacent photographic studio of

Townsend Duryea Townsend Duryea (1823 – 13 December 1888) and his brother Sanford Duryea (22 February 1833 – 20 March 1903, see below) were American-born photographers who provided South Australians with invaluable images of life in the early colony. Their ...

was destroyed by fire on 18 April 1875. They branched out into

stationary engine A stationary engine is an engine whose framework does not move. They are used to drive immobile equipment, such as pumps, generators, mills or factory machinery, or cable cars. The term usually refers to large immobile reciprocating engines, pr ...

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

The people

Francis and Caroline Clark

In 1824 Francis married Caroline Hill (18 August 1800 – 16 September 1877) , a daughter of Sarah (née Lea) (1765–1842) and

Thomas Wright Hill Thomas Wright Hill (24 April 1763 in Kidderminster – 13 June 1851 in Tottenham) was a mathematician and schoolmaster. He is credited as inventing the single transferable vote in 1819. His son, Rowland Hill, famous as the originator of the m ...

(24 April 1763 – 13 June 1851) of

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...

, founder of what, under her brother

Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...

, became the

Hazelwood School Hazelwood School is a private preparatory school located in Limpsfield, Surrey. The school was established in 1890 as a boarding school for boys aged 8–13 by Ruth and Edward Baily. Baily bought the land from the Titsey Place estate a ...

, Birmingham. (Rowland Hill was to become famous for inventing penny postage and was important in South Australian history as the Secretary to the Commissioners for the Colonization of South Australia.) Her eldest brother,

Matthew Davenport Hill Matthew Davenport Hill (6 August 1792 – 7 June 1872) was an English lawyer and prison reform campaigner and MP. Life Hill was born at Birmingham, where his father, Thomas Wright Hill, for long conducted the private schools Hazelwood and Bruce ...

, was Recorder of Birmingham, penal reformer and a supporter of

Edward Gibbon Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament). He also had significant interests in Brit ...

. Both were members of the

South Australian Association British colonisation of South Australia describes the planning and establishment of the colony of South Australia by the British government, covering the period from 1829, when the idea was raised by the then-imprisoned Edward Gibbon Wakefield ...

. He joined the firm of William Lea & Co., silversmiths of

Newhall Street Newhall Street is a street located in Birmingham, England. Newhall Street stretches from Colmore Row in the city centre by St Phillip's Cathedral in a north-westerly direction towards the Jewellery Quarter. Originally the road was the drivew ...

, whose

hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can al ...

was registered at the

Birmingham Assay Office The Birmingham Assay Office, one of the four assay offices in the United Kingdom, is located in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham. The development of a silver industry in 18th century Birmingham was hampered by t ...

in 1811, and in 1824 the hallmark of Lea & Clark was registered in Birmingham. Caroline's maternal grandfather's name was William Lea, so it is likely that the founder of the firm was her uncle. In 1833 they moved to the old Hazelwood building, after the school had moved to "

Bruce Castle Bruce Castle (formerly the Lordship House) is a Grade I listed 16th-century manor house in Lordship Lane, Tottenham, London. It is named after the House of Bruce who formerly owned the land on which it is built. Believed to stand on the site o ...

", and lived there for over fifteen years. They decided to migrate to South Australia after two of their children (T. Arthur (ca.1833–1847) and F. Owen (ca.1827–1849)) had died of tuberculosis and another, John Howard, was showing signs of lung problems. Following the advice of Caroline's brothers Matthew Davenport Hill and Rowland Hill,Brown, Robert and Martin/Clark Committee ''The Hatbox Letters'' Published by the authors, Adelaide 1999. Francis and his wife with eight children migrated to

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

in the ''Fatima'', arriving at Port Adelaide on 11 June 1850. They established a home in Goodwood. Their children were (see below for partial biographies): *(Caroline) Emily (1825–1911) * Sidney (1826–1908) *Owen (1828–1849) * Howard (1830–1878) *(Lionel) Vincent (1835–1854) *Henry Septimus (1836–1864) *(Ellen) Rosa (1837–1899) * Symonds (1839–1920) *(Susan) Mary (1846–1932) In 1853 Francis and son Sidney travelled to the home of John Wilkins M.D., who had been the surgeon and their travelling companion on the ''Fatima'', in

Williamstown, Victoria Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hobsons Bay local government area. Williamstown recorded a population of 14,407 at the 2021 census. H ...

where he died of a heart attack on 6 March 1853. His death notice in the ''Register'' was curiously brief, with no mention of his wife and family. During early 1853 Francis had purchased a house and 50-acre estate named "Grove Cottage" from

Thomas Burr Thomas Burr (1813–1866), surveyor and mine manager, was a British explorer and Deputy Surveyor General of South Australia 1839–46. Early life in England Born 1813 in England, probably at Kent, Thomas Burr's father was George Dominicus Burr ...

, which the Clark family re-named "Hazelwood", now Hazelwood Park. The family moved in shortly after the Francis's death and in 1858 started planting 3 acres of vines.
This article has useful descriptions of Stonyfell and Hazelwood vineyards as well as Auldana.

Emily Clark

Caroline Emily Clark (6 September 1825 – 18 November 1911) was, with help from her brother Howard,

Catherine Helen Spence Catherine Helen Spence (31 October 1825 – 3 April 1910) was a Scottish-born Australian author, teacher, journalist, politician, leading suffragist, and Georgist. Spence was also a minister of religion and social worker, and supporter of ...

and others, founder of the "boarding out system" for the relief of destitute children. See main article.

A. Sidney Clark

Algernon Sidney Clark (7 December 1826 – 16 February 1908) often called simply "Sidney Clark", succeeded his father as owner and manager of the company. From 1875 to 1882 he collaborated with J. H. Horwood in the manufacture and supply of well-drilling equipment. A. Sidney Clark was associated with the Home for Incurables and secretary of the Cremation Society. Sidney Place, Hazelwood Park is named for him. He was a member of Adelaide City Council for Gawler Ward 1863 to 1865 and a member of its Finance committee He helped brother Henry found Stonyfell winery and on Henry's death inherited his share (see below). He was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1886. He served as treasurer of the Adelaide Unitarian Christian Church in Wakefield Street. He was chairman of the

South Australian Chamber of Manufactures The South Australian Chamber of Manufactures was founded in 1868 to promote manufacturing industries in the Colony and State of South Australia. Strongly Protectionist, it lobbied on such subjects as unionized labour, Federation, rail standardizatio ...

from 1871 to 1873. He was member of the

Adelaide Chamber of Commerce , merged = , successor = , formation = {{start date and age, 1839, df=y , founder = , founding_location = , extinction = , merger = {{plain list, * South Australian E ...

and its chairman in 1871. He was a member of the Central Education Board from 1866 to 1868 or later. He was an active member of the Adelaide Philosophical Society He was a director of numerous companies, among them Mid-Moonta Mining, South Australian Coal, Burrawing Copper, Hamley Mining, Wheal Barton Copper Mining and Stonyfell Quarries. He was a founder, with Joseph H. Haycraft of Haycraft's Gold Extraction Co. Ltd. in 1894, voluntarily liquidated in 1901. He married Isabella "Belle" Hawkins (ca. September 1843 – 17 December 1920) at the Unitarian Church in Wakefield Street on 17 October 1867 and lived at Parkside, then "Hazelwood", later in North Adelaide. :*Mary Louisa "May" (14 August 1868 – ca.1946) married William M. Norris on 13 April 1911. Her estate was claimed by William Mackay Norris and Algernon Sidney Clark (jun). :*Edmund Sidney "Ted" Clark (15 January 1870 – 1967) married Rosanne/a? Frances ( – 24 September 1946) and lived at 82 Osmond Terrace. He was educated at Whinham College. ::He founded Adelaide Electrics Works on North Terrace, which became Ellis and Clark Ltd, building their first dynamo in 1895. By 1898 Ellis and Clark had moved to Blyth Street. His children Nancy, Andrew and Philip were all brought in as employees. ::Foundation secretary of the Electrical Engineers' Association in 1901. ::He was a foundation member SA Institute of Engineers in 1913 :*Isabel (30 September 1871 – ) married William A. Heggie on 9 April 1902 :*(Fanny) Cecilia (4 November 1873 – ) married H. Mortimer White on 26 July 1906 :*Catherine Ethel (20 July 1875 – 16 May 1898) :*Sybil (September 1877 – ) married John Tennant Knight on 25 November 1908 :*Charles Sidney (29 November 1878 – ) :*Lionel Sidney (18 December 1879 – ) :*Herbert Sidney Clark (ca.1883 – ) married a daughter of architect Bruce :*Beatrice (9 February 1883 – ) :*Natalie (12 April 1884 – ) married T. H. Williams on 3 April 1912 :*Algernon Sidney jun. (2 November 1887 – ) married Eleanor Ward on 19 June 1916

J. Howard Clark

John Howard Clark (15 January 1830 – 20 May 1878) was company accountant and later editor of The South Australian Register (see main article)

Henry Clark

Henry Septimus Clark (1835 – 20 February 1864) was Secretary and Engineer with East Torrens District Council, and in 1858 purchased a vineyard (which his fiancé Annie Martin named " Stonyfell") from James Edlin. He developed the vineyard in partnership with fellow-Unitarian Joseph Crompton (1842–1901), who was also his assistant at the Council and married his sister Susan. In 1862 they formed a partnership with A. Sidney Clark, trading as Clark and Crompton with offices in the same building as Francis Clark and Son, and warehouse in Blyth Street. Henry Clark died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

on what would have been his wedding day to Annie Martin. On Henry's death, Sidney Clark inherited Henry's share of the business, which he sold to Crompton in 1873, though the business name remained "Clark and Crompton" until 1880.

M. Symonds Clark

Matthew Symonds Clark (c. 1839 – 10 July 1920) was a student 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 ...

, married fellow Unitarian Euphemia Martin (c. 1850 – 1 April 1941) at their Wakefield Street Church on 29 August 1874. He operated a land and estate agency at Australasia Chambers and later an accountancy business on King William Street. He was for many years secretary of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He was a noted amateur ornithologist and naturalist and acted as Secretary to the Philosophical Society. His wife spent her last years active but almost totally blind. Their children included *Caroline Clark (4 July 1875 – 12 September 1924) headmistress of Miss Martin's School and died as a result of burns *Edward Vincent Clark (17 December 1876 – 3 October 1952) Lecturer in Electrical Engineering at University of Adelaide *Rowland Symonds Clark (22 January 1879 – 21 May 1952) married Eadith Sherard King 23 April 1906. Successful career with Queensland Insurance Company. *(Wilfred Francis) Darwin Clark (1892 – c. 17 May 1943) Red Cross volunteer died in sinking of hospital ship ''

AHS Centaur Australian Hospital Ship (AHS) ''Centaur'' was a hospital ship which was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Queensland, Australia, on 14 May 1943. Of the 332 medical personnel and civilian crew aboard, 268 died, includi ...

''. Father of Rosemary and Caroline. "Symonds" was the maiden name of his great-grandmother, Thomas Wright Hill's mother. A stained-glass window, depicting the

Parable of the Good Samaritan The parable of the Good Samaritan is told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. It is about a traveler (implicitly understood to be Jewish) who is stripped of clothing, beaten, and left half dead alongside the road. First, a Jewish priest and then a ...

, the work of

Nora Burden Nora Burden (24 May 1908 – 25 December 1992) was a South Australian stained glass artist. Burden was born in Adelaide, the eldest daughter of engineer Frank Robert Burden (1877–1960) and Emily Rosa Burden, née Martin, (1875–1960) a daught ...

, one of Australia's few women stained-glass artists, was in 1948 installed in the Unitarian Church, Wakefield Street, in his memory.

Susan Mary Crompton

Susan Mary Clark (28 February 1846 – 1932) married Joseph Crompton (1840 – 27 April 1901) on 8 May 1866 She worked with sister Emily on the "boarding out system" and joined the committee of the State Children's Council in 1906, by invitation, as a replacement for her sister Emily.

Francis H. Clark

Francis Howard Clark (22 September 1859 – 17 June 1945), the elder son of J. Howard Clark, was manager of the Blyth Street showrooms and the North Terrace workshop (as F. Howard Clark and Co.) until trading ceased in 1888. He founded an engineering shop in Port Adelaide, building windmills and various pumps of his own design. His windmill was shown at the 1879 Adelaide Industrial Exhibition; his pumps were well received at the Adelaide Exhibition in 1881. A portable steam engine and well-boring equipment won prizes at the

Royal Adelaide Show The Royal Adelaide Show is an annual carnival and agricultural show run by the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia. It is held at the Adelaide Showground, a dedicated venue located in Wayville, a suburb of Adelaide, ...

in 1887.Cumming. D. A. and Moxham, G ''They Built South Australia'' Published by the authors, Adelaide 1986 He moved to Broken Hill and married Edith Mary Smith ( – 17 July 1950) on 5 June 1890. Later their home was "Koondi", 123 Kensington Terrace, Norwood.

The Martins and the Clarks

Around six months after the Clarks left England for South Australia, Edward Montgomrey Martin (1807–1894) and his wife Ann Martin (née Thornton) (1809–1901), their family and friend William Hitchcox (1821–1902) followed on the ''Anglia'', arriving at Port Adelaide 5 March 1851. Their children were: *James Edward Martin (13 September 1837 – 26 September 1892) *Lucy Martin (26 August 1839 – 3 May 1863) married John Howard Clark *Anna Montgomerie "Annie" Montgomerie Martin (8 November 1841 – 9 August 1918) *Susan Katherine "Susie" Martin (3 November 1843 – 24 November 1850) *Mary Jane "Pollie" Martin (14 July 1845 – 12 July 1943) married James Arthur Whitfield (19 June 1840 – 3 January 1873) on 27 April 1871 * Henry Maydwell "Harry" Martin (1846–1936) founder of H. M. Martin and Son, winemakers *Frederick "Fred" Martin (9 April 1848 – 27 April 1909) married writer Catherine Edith Macauley Mackay (1847 – 15 March 1937) *Euphemia "Effie" Martin (9 October 1849 – 1 April 1941) married Matthew Symonds Clark They soon met up with fellow-Unitarian Dr.

Charles George Everard Dr Charles George Everard MD (29 August 1794 – 30 March 1876) was a physician, pioneer farmer and Member of the Legislative Council, in the early days of South Australia. Early life Charles was born in Marshfield Gloucestershire on 29 Au ...

; Edward Martin rented a premises from him on Hindley Street, where he established a chemists shop, and bought an allotment at Osmond Terrace, Norwood, where they built a house. They soon made friends of the Clarks and the friendship endured, four pairing up: *Lucy married John Howard Clark in 1858. *Annie was engaged to Henry Septimus Clark, but he died of tuberculosis on the day they would have been married. *Harry married Ellen Rosa Clark in 1874. *Effie married Matthew Symonds Clark in 1874.

First Night Game at Adelaide Oval

The company was responsible for the first electric lighting system ever installed at

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

, for an

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

football match between

and

South Adelaide The South Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club that competes in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Known as the ''Panthers'', their home ground is Flinders University Stadium Brush A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped durin ...

manufacture and two of 2,000 candle-power by

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

. The lamps were mounted on 30-feet poles equally spaced around the Oval just outside the boundary flags. The game was well attended but the illumination proved inadequate for a full enjoyment of the game (especially when the ball's white paint wore off!) and there were momentary lamp failures. Adelaide won the game 1 goal 8 behinds to 8 behinds.

Memorabilia

The old hand pump on display in the Market Square in Burra and a crane displayed at

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

were products of the company. A display of gold mining equipment in Pine Creek, Northern Territory features a company advertisement of the period.