Richard Smith (27 July 1836 – 27 March 1919) was a partner and managing director of the

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 ...

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 ...

, firm of George P. Harris, Scarfe & Co., later known as

Harris Scarfe Harris Scarfe is an Australian retailer that sells bed linen, kitchenware, homewares, electrical appliances and apparel. It was founded in 1849 in Adelaide, South Australia and has more than 50 stores nationally. In 2015, ownership of Harris Sc ...

. His son Harold Law-Smith was prominent in the history of the company.

History

Smith was born in

Westerham Westerham is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 3.4 miles east of Oxted and 6 miles west of Sevenoaks, adjacent to the Kent border with both Greater London and Surrey. I ...

Brasted Brasted is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks (district), Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. Brasted lies on the A25 road, between Sundridge, Kent, Sundridge and Westerham; the road is named Westerham Road, High Street and Main Road ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, son of William Smith and Ann Smith, née Solomon. He received a good education and worked for a firm of ironmongers in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

. He came to South Australia in June 1863 aboard the ''Countess of Fife'', under engagement to the firm of George P. Harris of

Hindley Street Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street, Adelaide, King William Street and West Terrace, Adelaide, West Terrace. Th ...

, and transferred to

Gawler Place Gawler Place is a single-lane thoroughfare in the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Somewhat narrower than other busy streets in the Central Business District, it runs north to south from North Terrace to Wakefield Stree ...

in 1864. Smith was employed as a travelling salesman, serving customers in the rapidly developing districts of the

South East Southeast is a compass point. Southeast, south-east, south east, southeastern, south-eastern, or south eastern may also refer to: * Southeast (direction), an intercardinal direction Places United Kingdom * South East England * South East Lond ...

and

Yorke Peninsula The Yorke Peninsula, known as Guuranda by the original inhabitants, the Narungga people, is a peninsula located northwest and west of Adelaide in South Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. The peninsula ...

. Smith was the ideal man for the job — knowledgeable, tireless and reliable, ever on the lookout for fresh fields to conquer, yet not one for self-aggrandizement — and was taken on as a partner in 1866. Around this time Harris also took on

George Scarfe George Scarfe (c. 1826 – 14 April 1903) was an English-born merchant in Adelaide, South Australia, a partner in the firm of George P. Harris, Scarfe, & Co., later known as Harris Scarfe. Scarfe was called a "genius of commerce", he was largely c ...

as a partner, and the business became Geo. P. Harris, Scarfe, & Co. in December 1866, with Smith as managing director. The company never looked back, but grew into one of the largest firm of traders in the Southern Hemisphere, with a reputation for good products and a fair deal. Around December 1918 Smith's health began to fail, and only attended his office intermittently, then died after a few weeks' incapacity. The funeral took place on 28 March 1919 and his remains interred in the family vault, Brighton Cemetery.

Other interests

From the 1890s Smith was involved with other commercial concerns. He was a director of *Mutual Life Insurance Company of Australasia *Executor Trustee and Agency Co. of South Australia *United Insurance Co. of Australasia *Stannary Hills Mining Co. *Adelaide Rope, Nail, and Barbed Wire Co. *Adelaide Chemical and Fertiliser Co. and was a *foundation and life member of the SA Commercial Travellers' Association Inc. *councillor with the Town of Glenelg and Mayor in the three terms 1893 to 1895 *fine tennis player and in later life an enthusiastic bowler, one of the mainstays of the Glenelg club *contributor to patriotic causes during the Great War *sponsor of the Soldiers' Memorial Hall at St Peter's College *breeder of high-grade

Shropshire sheep The Shropshire breed of domestic sheep originated from the hills of Shropshire, and North Staffordshire, England, during the 1840s. The breeders in the area used the local horned black-faced sheep and crossed them with a few breeds of white-faced ...

at "Sweetholme", his property at Strathalbyn. *breeder of shorthorn cattle at "Nomgetty" station of in Western Australia.

Recognition

A window in

St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide St Peter's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Adelaide and Metropolitan of the Province of South Australia. The cathedral, a significant Adelaide landmark, is sit ...

was dedicated to his memory

Family

Richard Smith (born 1836) married Emma Law (1844 – 13 March 1918), daughter of John Law (died 1887?) on 20 March 1869. They had a home "Woodlands" at Partridge-street, Glenelg. They had five daughters and five sons, many of whom used "Law Smith" as a though it were a surname: *Bertha Law Smith (4 Feb 1870 – 1947) married Harold Charles Downer (1865 – 1921) on 17 February 1909. He was a son of

Henry Edward Downer Henry Edward Downer (22 March 1836 – 4 August 1905) was a South Australian politician. He was a brother of Sir John Downer and George Downer, and a noted lawyer and businessman. Henry Edward Downer was born in Portsmouth, England and emigrat ...

( –1905), lived at "Sweet Home Farm", Strathalbyn *Edith Smith (10 December 1871 – 22 August 1947) *Harold Law Smith (31 December 1973 – 1955) (director of Harris, Scarfe & Co.) living at Glenelg in 1953 *Percival "Percy" Law Smith (11 July 1875 – ) married Violet Hilda Shenton, daughter of Sir

George Shenton Sir George Shenton (4 March 1842 – 29 June 1909) was a prominent businessman in colonial Western Australia, the first Mayor of Perth, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for over thirty years. Early and family lif ...

on 10 January 1907. He was manager of the Perth branch of Harris, Scarfe, later living in Melbourne. *Gertrude Emma Law Smith (1876 –1941 ) married William Margary Hole ( – ) on 27 August 1904, lived in Adelaide. *Mabel Law Smith (1878 – ) married (later Sir) Herbert Sydney Hudd (25 February 1881 – 30 April 1948) on 7 May 1919, living at Glenelg in 1953 *(Richard) Edgar Law Smith (29 May 1881 – ) *Walter Henry Law Smith (7 Feb 1883 – 18 December 1953) married Agnes Giles on 2 December 1909 *(Charles
Gordon Law Smith
(23 June 1885 – 24 April 1960) fought in Palestine, married Molly Hawkes on 9 March 1920; lived at Gawler. *Catherine Ellen "Nelly" Law Smith (died 26 December 1946) married Max W. Cooksey (died May 1938), lived in Sussex. She was a champion golfer.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Richard 1836 births 1919 deaths Colony of South Australia people Australian merchants People from Westerham People from Brasted 19th-century Australian businesspeople