Joseph Crompton
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Joseph Crompton (17 January 1840 – 27 April 1901) was a
vigneron A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to de ...
, manufacturer and exporter who founded several companies in the early days of the colony of South Australia. The eastern foothills suburb of
Stonyfell Stonyfell is an eastern suburb in the foothills of Adelaide, Australia, within the council area of the City of Burnside. It has parks with walking tracks, and two creeks running through it. St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School is the only school ...
was named after the property he bought in 1858, on which
vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
s were established. Stonyfell Winery still exists today, although the grapes are sourced from Langhorne Creek. Crompton also established
olive grove Olive Grove was The Wednesday F.C.'s first permanent football ground, home to the club for just over a decade at the end of the 19th century. It was located on the site of what is now Sheffield City Council's Olive Grove Depot, near Queens Roa ...
s and set up businesses manufacturing soap, and exporting
animal skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...
s and plant resins to Britain.


History

He was born in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, England, the youngest of the four sons of Woodhouse Crompton and his wife Lucy ( Fletcher). After the death of his parents, he was brought up by his maternal aunts at
Rivington Hall Rivington Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Rivington, Lancashire, England. It was the manor house for the Lords of the Manor of Rivington. The hall is of various builds as successor to a 15th-century timber-framed courtyard house that was ...
, the Fletcher family home in Lancashire. After attending a boarding school in
Knutsford Knutsford () is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East district, in Cheshire, England; it is located south-west of Manchester, north-west of Macclesfield and south-east of Warrington. The population of the parish at the 2021 Uni ...
he decided to emigrate to
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
in the hope of improving his health and making a fortune. To help in this second ambition he carried an introduction to the family of Francis Clark, who were also
Unitarians Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...
, as he was. He sailed on , arriving in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
on 24 September 1860 and
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
a month later. In Adelaide, he found employment working with
Henry Septimus Clark Francis Clark and Son was an engineering business in the early days of South Australia, which later became Francis Clark and Sons. Francis Clark (1799–1853), previously a silversmith and magistrate in Birmingham, England, founded Francis Clark ...
in his capacity as engineer and secretary for the East Torrens District Council, and took over many of his duties, while forming a close friendship. (This council covered the area from the East Parklands to the
Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and d ...
and as far north as Norton Summit.)


Wine

In 1857Preface to 3rd edition
says 1st edition 1989; 2nd edition 2000; Amendment 1 2004; 3rd edition 2015. All sections availabl
on Burnside Council website
an
at Burnside Historical Society
Henry bought an
Adelaide Hills The Adelaide Hills region is located in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. The largest town in the area, Mount Barker, South Australia, Mount Barker, is one of Australia's fastest-growi ...
property, dubbed "Stonyfell" (meaning "rocky hill") by his fiancée, Annie Montgomery Martin. Together with Henry Clark, Crompton established Stonyfell Vineyards in 1858, and by 1862 he and Robert Slape had planted some of vines and largely completed the two-storey cellars. On 21 May 1862 Henry formed a partnership with his brother Sidney and Joseph Crompton. Henry died in 1864 and in 1873 Joseph (who had meanwhile married Susan Mary Clark) bought out Sidney's share, becoming sole owner, but retained the business name "Clark & Crompton" until 1880. Joseph and his family moved into Stonyfell Cottage which had been built in 1838 by the previous owner James Edlin. According to Department of Mines records, there was a quarry opened in 1837 by James Edlin in the area, to supply slate and building stone. In 1901 the whole family, with the exception of H. W. Crompton, was still living there. Clark & Crompton employed as winemaker Henry Tyler, who produced a dry red
Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
, a dry white
Hock Hock may refer to: * Hock (wine), a type of wine * Hock (anatomy), part of an animal's leg * To leave an item with a pawnbroker * Hock (surname) * Richard "Hock" Walsh (1948-1999), Canadian blues singer * A type of wine bottle A wine bottl ...
, a light red and a
Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...
from their own and other growers' grapes, producing in the 1870s around each vintage. With the sale of the property in 1888, Francis Crompton had no further interest in winemaking, but Henry Martin and his son Ronald took over the winemaking business from Dunstan in 1902 and in 1934 purchasing vineyards and cellars from the Dunstan estate.


Olives

In 1874 he founded the Stonyfell Olive Company Ltd. with William Mair and Sidney Clark on of Stonyfell land. This business became largely owned by the family of Owen Crompton after his marriage to Sarah Simpson, daughter of A. M. Simpson, who settled on her the whole of his considerable stake in the company. With the inexorable expansion of Adelaide's suburbs, the land was sold to developers.


Wool and leather

In 1878 he began exporting skins to Britain and in 1879 he bought a property in what is now
Beverley, South Australia Beverley is a western Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Charles Sturt. Geography The suburb is mainly bounded by Port Road, Adelaide, Port Road, East Avenue, Ledger Road and Gr ...
for stabilising hides and skins for export to English
fellmonger A fellmonger was a dealer in hides or skins, particularly sheepskins, who might also prepare skins for tanning. The name is derived from the Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English ...
s. In 1882 he opened a similar establishment in
Footscray, Victoria Footscray ( ) is an inner-city Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Maribyrnong Loca ...
. At one stage Cromptons were exporting 1000 bales of rabbit skins annually, or 150 tons per week. He is believed to have been the first to export
kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...
skins to England, sometime before 1883, to Booth and Company (England) Ltd. Over 80,000 skins were exported to the same company in 1952.


Other raw materials

For a considerable time Cromptons were exporting accroides
resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...
from the yacca plant (''Xanthorrhoea spp.''), obtained when
Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...
land was being cleared; in one year 1200 tons were exported. This resource is effectively non-renewable, as the plant is extremely slow growing.


Soap

In 1878 Joseph founded the Bunyip Soap factory on to the south of
Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. Port Pirie is the largest city and the main retail centre of the Mid North region of South Australia. The city has an ex ...
. In 1889 the factory moved to the banks of the Torrens on Winwood Street,
Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
, previously occupied by T. Cornish's tannery, where it was managed by J. Milbourne, previously with the Apollo Soapworks then J. Kitchen and Sons. The company was still operating from the same premises, adjacent to F. H. Faulding Ltd., in 1962. The name Bunyip Soap Company was registered in 1898 and from as Crompton Bunyip Soaps Ltd until when the firm went into voluntary liquidation. Around 1900, Bunyip Soaps opened an office in
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
and had a factory at 25 Cliff Street,
Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
in the first half of the 20th century.


Grazing

He leased a property near
Keith, South Australia Keith is a town and a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's south-east about from the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide at the junction of the Dukes Highway and the Riddoch Highway. It is som ...
where he grazed sheep, later selling the for £6000.


Farming

He purchased a
dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...
of on Port Road,
Woodville, South Australia Woodville is a suburb of Adelaide, situated about north-west of the Adelaide city centre. It lies within the City of Charles Sturt. The Postal code, postcode of Woodville is 5011. Woodville is bound by Cheltenham Parade to the west, Torrens Roa ...
, and purchased at Carrickalinga near
Myponga, South Australia Myponga is a List of cities and towns in South Australia, settlement in South Australia. At the 2016 Australian census, 2016 census, the locality had a population of 744, of whom 393 lived in its town centre. Myponga is located within the federa ...
.


Depression

Like
John Barton Hack John Barton Hack (2 July 1805 – 4 October 1884) was an early settler in South Australia; a prominent farmer, businessman and public figure. He lost his fortune in the financial crisis of 1840 and despite his best efforts, never regained anythin ...
in the 1840 depression, Francis Crompton was ill-equipped to weather the financial downturn of 1884–1885. His assets were too diverse and widespread and he was forced to relinquish Carrickalinga and Stonyfell to the
Bank of Adelaide The Bank of Adelaide was an Australian bank 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 Sir Hen ...
, but retaining the Stonyfell house. In 1888 the property was purchased by quarry operator
Henry Dunstan Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainment ...
, who took on Henry Martin as his secretary and accountant. The business was known as H. M. Martin and Son. The great hill on the Stonyfell property was still being quarried by Dunstan's family (as Quarry Industries Ltd.) well over a century later. The same year, Joseph sold the house "Ilfracombe" on the Stonyfell Road to Henry Martin. This property was built for James George Nash F.R.C.S., the Colonial Surgeon, and later owned by pastoralist John Hallett.Bishop, Geoffrey C. ''The Vineyards of Adelaide'' Lynton Publications, Blackwood, South Australia 1977


Family

Joseph Crompton married (Susan) Mary Clark (28 February 1846 – 20 July 1932) at the Unitarian Christian Church in
Wakefield Street Wakefield Street is a main thoroughfare intersecting the centre of the South Australian capital, Adelaide, from east to west at its midpoint. It crosses Victoria Square in the centre of the city, which has a grid street plan. It continues as ...
on 8 May 1866. Mary Crompton worked with her sister Emily Clark on the boarding-out committee and succeeded her on the State Children's Council in 1906. They had ten children: *Henry Woodhouse Crompton (28 June 1867 – 10 November 1946) studied law, married Kate Brooke "Katie" Smith ( – 12 September 1948) on 18 May 1893, was manager of the Olive Company 1889 – , and managing director of the Bunyip Soap Company. Lived at Northumberland St, Heathpool *(Caroline) Lucy Crompton (31 July 1868 – 1956) *Martha "Patty" Crompton (26 February 1870 – 1962) *Alfred "Alf" Crompton (17 January 1872 – 1963) *Dorothea "Dora" Crompton (1873 – ) *Owen Crompton (1875–1923) married Sarah Simpson, daughter of Alfred M. Simpson of Young House, Parkside, on 27 September 1904. He was manager of the Olive Company (1899– ) and owner of Alma Chambers. *Robert "Bob" Crompton (1878–1958) manager Olive Company 1923 – *Thomas Edwin "Tom" Crompton (30 April 1880 – 1960) owner of Adelaide Arcade 1919–?? *Bernard "Bun" Crompton (7 July 1882 – 1945) *Harriet Mary "Hetty" Crompton (11 February 1884 – ) *John William Crompton (1885–1966) Joseph Crompton suffered a form of paralysis from 1889 to 1891, and it was a recurrence of this which killed him in 1901.


References


Further reading

* * * {{Authority control History of Adelaide Companies based in Adelaide Defunct manufacturing companies of Australia