Malcolm Donald Reid (11 December 1857 – 16 March 1933) was a South Australian timber merchant and businessman, founder of several furniture stores that bore his name.

Early life and education

Malcolm Donald Reid was born in

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 ...

to John Harper Reid ( – 25 September 1891) and Bridget Reid, née Carragher (died 1882), who married in 1852. John arrived in the

colony of South Australia A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

around 1849, possibly aboard ''Competitor'' in October 1848. Bridget may have been one of two servants (with sister Ellen who married Edward Fowler in 1852) who are thought to have arrived on ''Mary Clarke'' in July 1849. He received his secondary education at Port Adelaide Grammar School, when it was run by

Allen Martin Allen Martin (12 August 1844 – 13 July 1924), sometimes misspelt Allan Martin, was an English sailor who founded a private school at Port Adelaide, in the colony of South Australia. He became the founding headmaster of Port Adelaide Central Sc ...

(after January 1869).

Career

Reid's first job was as a clerk with D. & J. Fowler, then with a local builder, which gave him an insight into the timber business. When the discovery of

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

became known, Reid established a timber business there. He established a timber business in St Vincent Street,

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

in late 1882. In March 1884 the business became Russell, Reid & Dickson, selling "Doors, Sashes, and Frames, and every kind of Building Materials", with a steam sawmill located Leadenhall Street. This company, then owned by James Thomas Russell and Reid, was dissolved on 21 March 1887 and Henry Emes taken on as partner in May 1887, as Reid & Emes The firm advertised "the largest and best assorted stock of Tin; Iron, and Enamelled Saucepans in town, at prices that beat the record" in the ''

Barrier Miner ''The Barrier Miner'' was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Broken Hill in far western New South Wales from 1888 to 1974. History First published on 28 February 1888, ''The Barrier Miner'' was published continuously until 25 November 1 ...

'' in

. Emes retired in December 1890. In October 1891, "Malcolm Reid, Timber and Iron Merchant", advertised the sale of iron and other building materials, citing the head office as Franklin Street, near

Adelaide GPO The General Post Office is a colonial-era building situated on 141 King William Street on the north-west corner of King William Street and Victoria Square. It is the former General Post Office for South Australia. Postal services operated from ...

, with offices in Port Adelaide and Broken Hill. The ''

Advertiser Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically used ...

'' reported in August 1892 that Reid had sold furniture at Broken Hill for the preceding four years, and around February 1892 had leased premises in

Rundle Street Rundle Street, often referred to as "Rundle Street East" as distinct from Rundle Mall, is a street in the East End of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street to East Terrace, where it becomes Ru ...

(at no. 55), Adelaide, to test the market. This had proven so successful that he had leased large premises, formerly occupied by C. Segar on a long lease, "fitted up as a first-class furniture warehouse. The large floor space has been fitted up as a commodious showroom, in which are exhibited the various descriptions of furniture sold by the firm. At the rear are extensive bulk stores, which, with the showrooms before mentioned, form one of the largest and most complete furniture warehouses in Adelaide". These premises were at no. 148, "nearly opposite Fitch's Corner". Malcolm Reid 1936 B-6801

In 1902, Reid travelled to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa, and established a timber business there. This business was handed over to his sons to run when he returned to Adelaide, where he established a furnishing business in

at nos. 187-195, whose facade is now heritage-listed, with the old Malcolm Reid signage retained. The business was reformed as a

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

, Malcolm Reid & Co. Ltd. in November 1911; the directors were Malcolm Reid, Sidney Reid, and Thomas Crase. The store had moved to 187 Rundle Street, next to

Foy & Gibson Foy & Gibson, also known as Foy's and later Cox-Foys, was one of Australia's largest and earliest department store chains. A large range of goods were manufactured and sold by the company including clothing, manchester, leather goods, soft fur ...

, and advertised as

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

s, furnishers, and

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. The building had undergone significant renovations before its reopening as Malcolm Reid in September 1909, the original building having been built for the

South Australian Company The South Australian Company, also referred to as the South Australia Company, was formed in London on 9 October 1835, after the '' South Australia (Foundation) Act 1834'' had established the new British Province of South Australia, with the So ...

in stages 1880 to 1883 as a complex of 14 shops and an hotel, designed by architect

William McMinn William McMinn (1844 – 14 February 1884) was an Irish-born Australian surveying, surveyor and architect, based in Adelaide in the colony of South Australia. Early life and education McMinn was born in Newry, County Down, Ireland, in 1844. He ...

. The building was

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

on 5 June 1986. During the First World War, Reid went to live in England, using his time there to purchase furniture for his business in Adelaide, returning to Australia in 1923. He later travelled to both England and South Africa several times.

Other activities

In 1893, Reid was vice-president of the North Adelaide Patriotic Association. Reid was elected to the

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. It is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...

for the ward of North Adelaide, serving as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

for many years. and was nominated for mayor in 1897, but was beaten by Arthur Ware.

Honours

In 1914, the

Freedom of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

was bestowed upon Reid.

Personal life and death

Reid married Elizabeth Eleanor Purches in 1880. One of their sons, Reginald Harper "Reg" Reid (1886 – 14 September 1918) served as captain with the 153rd Brigade,

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

, and was killed in action in France. Elizabeth died in

Marseilles Marseille (; ; see below) is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean S ...

in 1923, and was buried back in Adelaide at Magill Cemetery. Reid married again, and his second wife survived him. Reid and Elizabeth had a daughter, Rosa, and six other sons: Malcolm Reid (proprietor of the Globe Timber Mills), Harold Reid (Reid Bros.), Sidney Reid (manager for Sir

Sidney Kidman Sir Sidney Kidman (9 May 18572 September 1935), known as Sid Kidman and popularly named "the Cattle King", was an Australian pastoralist and entrepreneur who owned or co-owned large areas of land in Australia in his lifetime. Early life Sidne ...

), Douglas Reid (Vanderfield & Reid, timber merchants, Sydney), Clifford, and Arnold Reid (Malcolm Reid & Co., Adelaide). Reid's grandson, Donald Malcolm Reid, of

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 ...

was a grandson (son of Malcolm Jnr of Marrayatville) married Elizabeth Bronner, daughter of

Rudolph Bronner Rudolph "Rudi" Bronner (27 September 1890 – 17 January 1960) was an Australian executive, National controller of talks for the Australian Broadcasting Commission (later Corporation). History Bronner was the second son of Carl or Charles Bronner ...

. Reid died at his home in

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct (Australia), precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. Laid out in a grid plan in three section ...

on 16 March 1933, after suffering a year of declining health. He was buried at Magill Cemetery, where his first wife had been buried. He left an estate worth £181,314. He bequeathed £300 to each of seven charities, and certain legacies to employees, with the rest left to his family.

Legacy: the company

Malcolm Reid & Co. Ltd. opened a store in

Bourke Street, Melbourne Bourke Street is one of the main streets in the Melbourne central business district and a core feature of the Hoddle Grid. It was traditionally the entertainment hub of inner-city Melbourne, and is now also a popular tourist destination and t ...

in 1936. Their store in King William Street was taken over in 1947 by a new home furnishing company, Reid's Ltd, of which Malcolm Reid & Co. Ltd. owned all ordinary shares. In 1950 a one-for-one issue of bonus shares was made to Malcolm Reid & Co. Ltd., realizing a substantial book profit. In 1951 a new company, Malcolm Reid and Co. (Vic.) Pty. Ltd., was floated, and purchased the Victorian assets from Malcolm Reid & Co. Ltd.

References

1857 births 1933 deaths Australian timber merchants History of Broken Hill Colony of South Australia people