Howard Smith Limited was an Australian industrial company. Founded in 1854 as a shipping company, it later diversified into coal mining, steel production, stevedoring, travel, railway rolling stock building, sugar production and retail. Its divisions began to be sold off in the 1990s with the remainder taken over by

Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...

in August 2001.

Shipping

On 7 July 1854 Captain William Howard Smith arrived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

from England as skipper of the 177 ton steamer ''Express'' in which he held a 50% share along with the ship's engineer, SB Skinner. On 3 October 1854, the ''Express'' began operating the first regular passenger service in Australia from Melbourne to

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

. Smith sold his share in the business to Thomas Parker in 1861 and returned to England. In May 1864, Howard returned to Australia with the 672 ton ''Kief'', a former

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

water carrier and entered the interstate coal trade with a service from Melbourne to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. In 1875, Howard recommenced operating passenger services. Services were extended to

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

in 1883,

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 1885 and

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

in 1893. In 1947 Howard Smith withdrew from the interstate passenger market. In 1961 the Melbourne Steamship Company was taken over. In 1968 Howard Smith withdrew from the interstate shipping market and concentrated on bulk shipping and the management of specialised ships for others. In 1972 a takeover offer was made for

RW Miller R. W. Miller was an Australian company that had interests in coal mining, pubs and shipping. The company was named after its founder Robert William Miller (1879-1958). History R. W. Miller was founded in 1923 as a colliery proprietor and coal de ...

. Although not successful, Howard Smith gained a 35% shareholding. This attempted takeover and protracted takeover battle was associated with an important legal case and subsequent appeal to the Privy Council, ''

Howard Smith Ltd v Ampol Petroleum Ltd ''Howard Smith Ltd v Ampol Petroleum Ltd'' is a leading company law case, concerning the duty of directors to act only for "proper purposes". This duty has been codified into the Companies Act 2006 section 171, and arises particularly in cases i ...

.'' Howard Smith's shareholding in RW Miller was increased to 67% in 1979 when it acquired

Ampol Ampol Limited is an Australian petroleum company headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales. Ampol is the largest transport energy distributor and retailer in Australia, with more than 1,900 Ampol-branded stations across the country . It also ope ...

's shareholding and in February 1985 it took 100% ownership. In March 1989, Howard Smith purchased the Dilmun Navigation Co from

Inchcape Inchcape or the Bell Rock is a reef about off the east coast of Angus, Scotland, near Dundee and Fife, occupied by the Bell Rock Lighthouse. The name ''Inchcape'' comes from the Scottish Gaelic ''Innis Sgeap'', meaning "Beehive isle", proba ...

. Howard Smith withdrew from the shipping business in 1996 with the sale of its remaining two vessels.

Tugboats

Howard Smith was the largest operator of

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

s in Australia, operating both in its own right and in partnerships. It also had operations in Bougainville and

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

. In June 1987, a 75% share (100% from December 1989) in salvage and ocean towing business North British Marine Group of Hull. In 1993 the Alexandria Towing Group business, the largest in the United Kingdom, was purchased. In May 2001 the 90 vessel tugboat operation was sold to Adsteam Marine.

Iron & steel

In 1918 Howard Smith took a shareholding in

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

Commonwealth Steel Products. In May 1928 it took a 19% shareholding in a partnership with Hoskins Iron & Steel,

Dorman Long Dorman Long & Co was a UK steel producer, later diversifying into bridge building. It was once listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Arthur Dorman and Albert de Lande Long when they acquired ''West Marsh ...

and Baldwins to form

Australian Iron & Steel Australian Iron & Steel was an Australian iron and steel manufacturer. History Public company (1928-1935) Australian Iron & Steel (AI&S) was established in 1928 to take over the business of Hoskins Iron & Steel. That company had already comme ...

. It was heavily involved in the building of the

Port Kembla A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

steelworks. It also owned Southern Portland Cement which operated a cement plant at Berrima and a quarry at

Marulan Marulan is the traditional lands of the Gundungurra people. It is a small town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in the Goulburn Mulwaree Council local government area. It is located south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highw ...

. In October 1935, Howard Smith's iron and steel interests were sold to

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

Coal

Howard Smith owned Caledonian Collieries that controlled five collieries in South Maitland and the Cockle Creek Power Station. It also owned the Invincible Colliery at Cullen Bullen. In 1960 Caledonian Collieries merged with

J & A Brown J & A Brown was an privately owned Australian coal family firm founded by James Brown (1816–1894) and Alexander Brown (1827–1877). Firm's Beginning at Four Mile Creek In 1843 James Brown leased eighty acres at Four Mile Creek, near E ...

and Abermain & Seaham Collieries to form

Coal & Allied Coal & Allied is an Australia coal mining company. Operating mines in the Hunter Region, it is a subsidiary of Yancoal. History Coal & Allied was formed in 1960 when Caledonian Collieries and J & A Brown & Abermain-Seaham Collieries merged. H ...

with Howard Smith owning 48%. By 1989 this was down to down to 6% with this sold in 1991.

Travel centres

A travel centre opened in

followed by branches in

and

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

. In 1980 it became Howard Smith & Patrick Travel with further branches in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

. It was sold to

Burns Philp Burns Philp (properly Burns, Philp & Co, Limited) was once a major Australian shipping line and merchant that operated in the South Pacific. When the well-populated islands around New Guinea were targeted for blackbirding in the 1880s, a new ...

in February 1985.

Railways

Having held a minority shareholding since 1917 following an unsuccessful attempted takeover, in October 1964 Howard Smith purchased railway rolling stock manufacturer A Goninan & Co. In August 1999, A Goninan & Co was sold to the

United Group United Group is an alternative telecom provider in Southeast Europe that operates both telecommunications platforms and mass media outlets. History United Group was formed in 2007, as a Luxembourg-registered multinational entity, in a merger o ...

Sugar mills

In 1976 the Moreton Central Sugar Mill,

Nambour Nambour is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nambour had a population of 11,187 people. Geography Nambour is north of the state capital, Brisbane. The town lies in the sub ...

was purchased and in 1987 in partnership with Babinda Mill,

Goondi Goondi is a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. Geography Goondi is riverside land wrapped around the southern side of an elbow-shaped bend in the Johnstone River. It is very flat land, being 0 to 10 metres above se ...

mill was purchased from CSR. In March 1988, Mourilyan and Moreton mills were sold to Bundaberg Sugar.

Stevedoring

Howard Smith gradually took over stevedore James Patrick Group, owning 73% by 1980 and 100% by 1990. In November 1988 Howard Smith and

Australian National Line Australian National Line (ANL) was a coastal shipping line established in by the Government of Australia in 1956. It was sold in 1998 by the Howard government to CMA CGM. History Australian National Line was formed on 1 October 1956 as the ...

merged their stevedoring operations under the National Terminals brand with Howard Smith owning 40%. This was later increased to 50% before being diluted to 25% in 1990 when National Terminals merged with Strang Stevedoring. In November 1994 Howard Smith exited the stevedoring industry with the sale of National Terminals to Jamieson Equity.

Retail

In April 1984, workplace products supplier J Blackwood & Son was purchased. In July 1994, the BBC hardware chain was purchased from

. In March 1998 NZ Safety and Alsafe Safety Industries were purchased and integrated with Blackwoods, as was Protector Safety Supply Group when purchased from

OPSM OPSM (Optical Prescription Spectacle Makers) is a retailer of eye glasses in Australia and New Zealand, with locations in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. It is owned by Luxottica, an Italian eyewear conglomerate. History OPSM was founded i ...

in May 2001.

Investments

As well as actively being involved in the ownership and management of many companies, Howard Smith periodically bought and sold shareholdings in other companies but had little or no influence in their operation including: *

Adelaide Steamship Company The Adelaide Steamship Company was an Australian shipping company and later a diversified industrial and logistics conglomerate. It was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875. Their aim was to control the transport of goods b ...

* Amalgamated Wireless *Belfast & Koroit Steam Navigation Company *

EZ Industries EZ Industries, formerly the Electrolytic Zinc Company, was a zinc miner and refiner in Australia. History EZ Industries was established in 1916 by Amalgamated Zinc as the Electrolytic Zinc Company to operate the Risdon Zinc Works on the banks ...

*Harbour Newspaper & Publishing Company *

Kooragang Kooragang () is the northernmost and largest suburb of the city of Newcastle, in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Dominated by Kooragang Island, the eastern part of the suburb is primarily industrial, while the western part of th ...

Coal Loader *Melbourne Steamship Company *

Mount Isa Mines Mount Isa Mines Limited ("MIM") operates the Mount Isa copper, lead, zinc and silver mines near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia as part of the Glencore group of companies. For a brief period in 1980, MIM was Australia's largest company. It has ...

* Port Waratah Services

Headquarters

In 1928, the company's headquarters moved from Melbourne to

George Street, Sydney George Street is a street in the central business district of Sydney. It was Sydney's original high street, and remains one of the busiest streets in the city centre. It connects a number of the city's most important buildings and precincts. ...

Demise

In June 2001

launched a takeover bid for the company. The bid was successful with the BBC and

Hardwarehouse Hardwarehouse was a home improvement chain in Australia. The chain was an offshoot of BBC Hardware, which was owned by Burns Philp and then Howard Smith Limited, and had stores in Australia and New Zealand. It was established by BBC Hardware as a ...

hardware store chains integrated with Wesfarmers'

Bunnings Warehouse Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings was founded in Perth, Wester ...

business. The Blackwood brand was retained. Howard Smith was delisted from the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia as ...

on 17 October 2001.Removal from Official List
Howard Smith 12 October 2001

References

External links

{{Authority control Coal companies of Australia Companies based in Sydney Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Defunct retail companies of Australia Defunct shipping companies of Australia Home improvement companies of Australia Sugar companies of Australia Travel and holiday companies of Australia Wesfarmers Australian companies established in 1854 Australian ship owners Australian companies disestablished in 2001