George Peter Harris (c. 1820 – 26 November 1873) was the co-founder of the South Australian company that became Harris Scarfe.

History

Harris left England on the ship ''Candahar'' for South Australia in 1848, arriving at Port Adelaide in February 1849. Harris was born in Truro, Cornwall in about 1822. He was baptised on 21st Apr 1822 in the Parish of St Mary's, Truro. His parents were watchmaker George Harris and Jane. Fellow-passengers included his business partner John Charles Lanyon, but also

George Scarfe George Scarfe (c. 1826 – 14 April 1903) was a merchant in Adelaide, South Australia, a partner in the firm of George P. Harris, Scarfe, & Co., later known as Harris Scarfe. Called a "genius of commerce", he was largely credited with the firm's ea ...

, who would years later be a partner, but whether he was known to the others is open to conjecture. Scarfe was not an emigrant at this stage; he would make a second voyage on the ''Frances Henty'' some four years later and their famous partnership a few years later still. Lanyon and Harris's first shipments arrived within a month and they set up shop as

ironmonger Ironmongery originally referred, first, to the manufacture of iron goods and, second, to the place of sale of such items for domestic rather than industrial use. In both contexts, the term has expanded to include items made of steel, aluminium ...

s at 43 Hindley Street opposite the "Black Bull" hotel. Their partnership was dissolved in March 1855, and Lanyon left South Australia by the barque ''Iris'' for London, where he started in business as a purchasing agent, servicing Harris and other Australian merchants. In 1864 Harris established a second store at Gawler Place, while Scotsman William Fraser and another employee,

, ran the Hindley Street business as Scarfe & Fraser. They began selling off stock at discounted prices in March 1866 and the partnership was dissolved in August of that year, when it was revealed Harris had been a silent partner. Harris and Scarfe formed the partnership George P. Harris, Scarfe, & Co. in December 1866, at 58-60 Gawler Place, midway between Rundle and Grenfell streets, much later the site of Allan's music store. Around that time Richard Smith, their diligent salesman, was made a partner and their managing director. Harris and family left Adelaide by SS ''Balclutha'' on 14 January 1867, for Melbourne, and thence to London. He died six years later at "Castle House",

Shooter's Hill Shooter's Hill (or Shooters Hill) is a district in South East London within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It borders the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north of Eltham and south of Woolwich. With a height of , it is the highest point in t ...

, London.

Other interests

*He was prominent in the 1864 establishment of the Jubilee Wesleyan Methodist church in Kent Town, and a dedicated worshipper and supporter. He funded the purchase of its first pipe organ. opened 24 October 1873. He was a Circuit Steward of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. *He served as Alderman for the Robe ward of

Adelaide City Council The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...

for the year 1860 but resigned the following year. *He was in 1866 a director of the

Bank of Adelaide The Bank of Adelaide was founded in 1865 in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It was incorporated by an act of the Parliament of South Australia. The original directors of the company were Henry Ayers, Thomas Greaves Waterhouse, Robert B ...

and one of five Adelaide directors of the

English, Scottish & Australian Bank The English, Scottish & Australian Bank Limited was an Australian bank founded in 1852 by Royal Charter in London and named English, Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank. Following a financial reconstruction in 1893 its business was renamed ...

(with

Henry Ayers Sir Henry Ayers (now pron. "airs") (1 May 1821 – 11 June 1897) was the eighth Premier of South Australia, serving a record five times between 1863 and 1873. His lasting memorial is in the name Ayers Rock, also known as Uluru, which was en ...

, Thomas Magarey, Robert Barr Smith and T. G. Waterhouse. *He was a founding director of the

South Australian Gas Company The South Australian Gas Company (later known as SAGASCO) was formed in 1861 twenty-five years after the colony of South Australia was first settled. The establishment of gasworks from 1863 provided not only industry and employment but also stree ...

with Ayers,

Arthur Blyth Sir Arthur Blyth (19 March 1823 – 7 December 1891) was Premier of South Australia three times; 1864–65, 1871–72 and 1873–75. Early life The son of William Blyth and his wife, Sarah Wilkins, he was born at Birmingham, England on 21 ...

, Thomas Graves, and George Young. *He was also a generous supporter of Prince Alfred College, which was founded in 1869 by the Methodist church as a school for sons of well-to-do Protestants.

Recognition

A memorial plaque bearing his name was installed in the Wesleyan Jubilee Church, Kent Town.

Family

Harris married Caroline Fisher ( – 27 March 1920), sister of Daniel Fisher, at North Adelaide on 14 November 1854. They had two children: *Louisa Caroline Harris (30 August 1855 – 1 May 1895) *George Stanley Harris (21 June 1860 – )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, George Peter 1820 births 1873 deaths Australian merchants 19th-century Australian businesspeople