Watson, Ferguson and Company is the longest running printing company in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. It was established by John Watson and James Ferguson in the mid nineteenth century as a firm specialising in book selling, stationery manufacturing, lithography and printing. In 1890 it was the manufacturer of one of the world's smallest dictionaries. The company's second premises in Queen Street,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, was part of a row of buildings designed by

Richard Gailey Richard Gailey, Sr. (22 April 1834 – 24 April 1924) was an Irish-born Australian architect. Gailey was born in County Donegal, Ireland and emigrated to Australia in 1864, becoming an influential and prolific architect in colonial-era Brisban ...

which include the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As ...

listed

Palings Building The Palings Building is a heritage-listed retail building located at 86 Queen Street, Brisbane, Queen Street, Brisbane City, Queensland, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Richard Gailey as one of a row ...

. Throughout the first part of the twentieth century, the company was the oldest operating business in Queen Street.

John Watson

John Watson was born near

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

around 1830 and, at the age of sixteen, left for

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

in the United States of America, prior to arriving in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia, in pursuit of gold. He eventually settled in

around 1859 where he operated a successful photographic studio until 1873. John Watson and his wife, Elizabeth Selim, died when the

RMS Quetta RMS ''Quetta'' was an iron-hulled steamship that was built in Scotland in 1881 and wrecked with great loss of life in the Torres Strait in 1890. She was operated by British India Associated Steamers (BIAS), which was controlled by the British I ...

was wrecked on the

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stret ...

coast in 1890. The Watsons had no children and certain conditions were in place in James Watson's will dependent on who survived the other. As the Watsons were seen falling into the water within sixty seconds of one another, it was difficult to determine who had predeceased each other in the wreck, and the courts became involved in establishing

survivorship Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...

and determining who were the beneficiaries of estate. The estate included the partnership property of Watson, Ferguson and Co.

James Ferguson

James Ferguson was born in Ardentallan, Oban, Scotland on July 26, 1839. He arrived in Australia on board 'The Great Britain', one of the earliest steamships travelling between the United Kingdom and Australia. After spending some time in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, in 1870 he arrived in Brisbane to manage the printing business started by William Gowans in 1868. After William Gowan's death, James Ferguson took over the business, and renamed it Ferguson and Company. James Ferguson died on 24 April 1926.

History (1871–1930)

In 1871 John Watson and James Ferguson went into partnership, renamed the business Watson, Ferguson and Company and significantly expanded the business at 69 Queen Street. Watson had experience as a printer and engineer while Ferguson had experience as a bookseller and stationer. In 1882, the company built a four-storey building designed by

on the site of the original Supreme Court and Parliament House buildings and opposite the site of the company's first store at 69 Queen Street. The basement contained the printing and store while the upper storeys contained retail space, a wholesale area, office space and an area for artists engaged in engraving and illumination to work. When John and Elizabeth Watson died in 1890, James Ferguson became the sole principal. In 1909, Watson and Ferguson commenced offering subscription and circulating library services from their Queen Street premises and, during the holiday season, at

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

and merged their business into a limited liability concern. In 1914, the business built a large printery and bookbinding factory on the corner of Glenelg and Stanley Streets with the assistance of the Municipality of South Brisbane. In 1919, the company expanded their business to include a cabinet making section to manufacture office furniture. Following the death of James Ferguson in 1926, his son Eric Abbott, took over as joint manager. In 1930, the company was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

References

{{reflist Printing companies of Australia Book publishing companies of Australia Companies based in Brisbane Bookshops of Australia Retail buildings in Queensland