Quinton Stow Smith (7 April 1864 – 10 June 1963), was a
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 ...
n businessman, philanthropist and longtime active lay member of the Baptist Church.
History
Smith was born in
Beaumont, South Australia
Beaumont is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Burnside. Founded as a purpose-built village by Sir Samuel Davenport in 1848, it initially struggled due to high land prices in the area. However, with Adelaide's inevitable expansion residents eve ...
, the youngest child of James Smith and his wife Augusta Smith, née Wearing, a sister of Justice Wearing. He was named for Rev.
Thomas Quinton Stow
Thomas Quinton Stow (7 July 1801 – 19 July 1862), generally referred to as the Rev. T. Q. Stow, but also as Quinton Stow, was an Australian pioneer Congregational minister.
Brian L. Jones,Stow, Thomas Quinton (1801 - 1862), ''Australian Dictio ...
(1801–1862), a friend of his father who married the couple on 25 November 1845. He grew up on the family property "Karrayerta" on Fullarton Rd,
Fullarton
Fullarton is a small area in Irvine, North Ayrshire. It is situated close to Irvine Bay and is next to several industrial estates, large supermarkets and retail stores and the town centre itself. Stagecoach Western buses operate the local bus s ...
, and was educated at
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 1879 he started work as an office boy for schoolmate Frederick William Bullock (1851–1931), who had just taken over his late father's land agency business in York Chambers, Franklin Street, and stayed with him until 1888.
He then joined Samuel Alfred Davenport (1861–1919), a nephew of Sir
Samuel Davenport
Sir Samuel Davenport (5 March 1818 – 3 September 1906) was one of the early settlers of Australia and became a landowner and parliamentarian in South Australia.
Davenport was fourth son of George Davenport, a wealthy English banker, an ...
, who had an office in the Bank of Australasia Chambers.
In December 1889 he and Davenport formed a partnership Davenport & Smith, stockbrokers, with offices in Alfred Chambers,
Currie Street
Currie Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map of the
Alfred Jabez Roberts
Alfred Jabez Roberts (1863 – 3 July 1939), generally referred to as A. J. Roberts, was a South Australian businessman and sporting identity.
History
Roberts was born Jabez Alfred Roberts at Queen street, Norwood, son of William Henry Roberts a ...
(1863–1939), mayor of Glenelg 1899–1902, 1916–1917. Smith was a Director of Valkyrie Gold Mining Company.
In 1905 Smith, Roberts and F. H. Cowell purchased the business of Cowell Brothers timber merchants (incorporated in 1910), of which Smith became chairman of directors, and his son Harold managing director, with Smith serving on its board until his 99th birthday.Smith, Quinton Stow, 1864-1963. trove.nla.gov.au
Other interests
*Smith was a long-standing supporter of the
Flinders Street Baptist Church
Flinders Street Baptist Church is a church in Flinders Street, South Australia.
History
In response to a call by George Fife Angas for a Baptist minister to found a new church in Adelaide, Rev. Silas Mead emigrated aboard ''Parisian'', arriving ...
*He was the first lay president of the
Baptist Union of Australia
Australian Baptist Ministries (formerly Baptist Union of Australia) is the oldest and largest national cooperative body of Baptists in Australia. The Baptist Union of Australia was inaugurated on 24 August 1926 at the Burton Street Church in ...
(1929–1932).Biographical cuttings on Quinton Stow Smith trove.nla.gov.au
*He was treasurer of the Baptist church building fund for over 50 years
*He was vice-president of the
World Baptist Alliance
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...
for several years.
*He was associated with the
Adelaide Benevolent Society Adelaide Benevolent Society is South Australia's oldest charity, formed in 1849. It is an independent non-profit organization that provides affordable housing for aged persons, families and new arrivals to South Australia. The society also provides ...
for over 50 years; the Stow Smith Homes for the Aged at
Firle
Firle (; Sussex dialect: ''Furrel'' ) is a village and civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England. Firle refers to an old-English/Anglo-Saxon word ''fierol'' meaning overgrown with oak. Although the original division of East ...
were named in his honour.
*He was a longtime vice-president 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 ...
*He was a longtime vice-president of the
Aborigines' Friends' Association
The Aborigines' Friends' Association (AFA) was established out of concern for "the moral, spiritual and physical well-being" of Australian Aboriginal people from the Northern Territory and particularly South Australia. This organisation operated ...
Family
Smith married Emily Henrietta Cooper (c. 1870 – 8 November 1947) in 1891. They had 3 daughters and 2 sons:
*Dorothy Edna Smith (28 June 1892 – ) married Harold Bayard Piper (c. 1893 – 10 May 1953) on 7 June 1922. Piper, a barrister, was appointed to the
Arbitration Court
Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ...
in 1938, later served as Chief Judge. also on board of BHP.
*Averil Constance Smith (1894–1980) married Arthur Towers Matters on 11 September 1919. He was a real estate agent of Glenelg.
*Harold Stow Smith (1896– ) married Gladwyn Affleck Kerr on 9 May 1923
*Dudley Stow Smith (1898– ) married Margaret Agnes Bruce on 15 November 1923
*(Gladys) Mary Smith (1902– ) married Clem Bowen Chinner ( – 19 March 1952) in 1936.
They had a home "Carrayerta" or "Karrayerta" on Fullarton Road, Fullarton. After his wife died (in 1947) he sold the family property to the SA Housing Trust (in 1953) and went to live at 15 Cross Road, Kingswood.
The second generation used "Stow Smith" as though it were a (non-hyphenated) double-barrelled surname.