William Knox Simms (1830 – 25 December 1897) was a brewer, businessman and politician in the early days of South Australia.

History

Simms migrated to South Australia from England, arriving in December 1845. He formed a partnership with John Hayter and in 1852 purchased the

Pirie Street Brewery The Pirie Street Brewery was a brewery situated on Pirie Street, Pirie and Wyatt Streets, Adelaide, in the early days of the British colony of South Australia. It was succeeded on the same site after a few years by the Adelaide Brewery. Its origi ...

from its founder James Walsh. In 1853 Simms & Hayter took over the mail business of John and James Chambers, which proved highly profitable. Hayter left in 1855, then was proved insolvent in 1859. From 1856 the firm of W. K. Simms & Co. ran the Halifax Street Brewery, then in 1861 took over the famous West End Brewery, off

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 ...

near West Terrace, and built it up into a highly profitable business; from 1866 to 1879 with partner

Edgar Chapman Edgar Chapman (1831 – 11 September 1886) was a brewer and businessman in Adelaide, South Australia, closely associated with the Theatre Royal. History James Chapman, a tailor and draper of Kent, England, emigrated to South Australia with h ...

. In 1874 they sent senior employee

Charles Mallen Charles Edward Mallen (23 December 1819 – 26 October 1909) was a carpenter and brewer in the early days of the colony of South Australia. History Charles was born at Euston Square, London, and was apprenticed to the Edwards company, cabinetma ...

to New South Wales to found what became the "Adelaide Brewery" in

Waverley, Sydney Waverley is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Waverley is located seven kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia ...

with

Hampton Carroll Gleeson Hampton Carroll Gleeson (31 August 1834 – 10 April 1907) was a pastoralist and politician in the young colony of South Australia. He was later involved in the business of brewing beer in the neighbouring colony of New South Wales. History Hamp ...

. In 1888 the West End Brewery was taken over by the South Australian Brewing and Malting Company. That business later amalgamated with Edwin Smith's Kent Town Brewing Company, whose malt towers remain a prominent East Adelaide landmark. Simms remained a director of the company until his death, but his duties were not onerous, and his dividends immense.

Other activities

Broken Hill mine He was a director of Equitable Fire Insurance Co.

Politics

In 1867 he 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 Gawler ward. He proved to be a popular representative and was elected to the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

in 1868 for the West Adelaide district, with H. R. Fuller as his colleague. The fifth Parliament was dissolved on 2 March 1870 and Simms did not stand for the ensuing election, but was again elected on 14 December 1871, with

Judah Moss Solomon Judah Moss Solomon (21 December 1818 – 29 August 1880)Richards, Eric'Solomon, Judah Moss (1818 - 1880)' Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 6, Melbourne University Press, 1976, pp 163-164. was a successful businessman, Mayor of Adelai ...

as colleague. On 10 February 1875 Simms was again elected, with Thomas Johnson filling the other seat. He resigned in June 1876, thus allowing John Darling, Sr., to take his place, but he won again in April 1878 in conjunction with Hugh Fraser. He finally retired from the Assembly in March 1881, when he was succeeded by

C. C. Kingston Charles Cameron Kingston (22 October 1850 – 11 May 1908) was an Australian politician. From 1893 to 1899 he was a radical liberal Premier of South Australia, occupying this office with the support of Labor, which in the House of Assembly w ...

. Simms remained out of Parliament until 28 February 1884, when he was a candidate at the first election for the Central district of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

, his opponent being

Philip Santo Philip Santo (7 August 1818 – 17 December 1889) was a South Australian politician and businessman. History Santo was born on 7 August 1818, at Saltash, and trained to be a carpenter. At age 22, he left for South Australia on the ship ''Bright ...

. Previously the Council had been chosen by the whole colony voting in one electorate, but by the Constitution Act of 1881 its strength was increased from 18 to 24 members, and it was divided into four electoral districts. The first vacancy under the new system was caused by the death of Sir William Morgan, and Simms won in a close and hard-fought contest. He resigned from the Council on 14 April 1891. During his long period in politics he never sought a Cabinet position or personal gain, never engaged in party politics, and retained a high popularity with fellow members and electors alike.

Racing

He was a keen race-goer and supported the Totalizator Bill, steering it through to its second reading, but never owned a thoroughbred. He was present at the meeting held at the John Bull Hotel, Adelaide, in October 1861, for the purpose of putting racing in the colony on a more satisfactory footing, and was elected a member of the club then established, known as the Second South Australian Jockey Club, and was elected to its committee, along with E. M. Bagot, P. B. Coglin, G. Bennett, and W. Blackler. Simms resigned on 11 January 1864, but on the 20th of the same month he was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of Coglin, and continued to hold the office for several years. In 1864, at his instigation, it was decided to dispense with sweepstakes and substitute fixed sums as prizes. In those days the

Adelaide Cup The Adelaide Cup is a South Australian Jockey Club Group 2 Thoroughbred handicap horse race for three-year-olds and older, run over 3,200 metres at Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide, Australia on the second Monday in March. Total prize mone ...

was worth £500 with a sweepstake of 50 sovereigns added. In 1866 when the S.A.J.C. became financially embarrassed, Simms was one of the guarantors for the payment of the overdraft at the National Bank. C. B. Fisher resigned his membership of the committee in 1867, and Simms was appointed chairman. In that year P. B. Coglin proposed the handing over of the lease of tho Old Course to the Jockey Club on the club accepting the liabilities, but the proposition was not entertained. Mr. Simms took an active part in promoting the race meeting held on the Old Course in 1869 in honour of the visit of Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh. He was one of those who met at the Old Stock Exchange on 19 September 1888 to re-form the South Australian Jockey Club.

Family life

Simms married Jane Faulkner (c. 1829 – 28 August 1905). They had four sons (one, William, died aged three) and three daughters: *Alfred Simms (c. 1853 – 30 May 1901) married Priscilla Chambers (ca.1854 – 17 November 1924), daughter of John Chambers, on 17 June 1874. He was a member of the

Adelaide Stock Exchange The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation based in Adelaide, South Australia, whose mission is science communication. It opened in October 2009 and is housed in the historic Stock Exchange bu ...

, and in 1887 with partner W. B. Rounsevell took over Johnston & Furniss, the

Grenfell Street Grenfell Street () is a major street in the north-east quarter of the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. The street runs west-east from King William Street to East Terrace. Its intersection with Pulteney Street is formed by Hindmarsh Squa ...

wine and spirit merchants, to form Rounsevell & Simms, which in February 1888 joined with the

Kent Town Brewery Kent Town Brewery was a brewery in Kent Town, a suburb adjacent to the city of Adelaide on its eastern side, in South Australia. Its original name was Logue's Brewery, after its first proprietor. History The brewery was founded on King Wil ...

and the West End Brewery to form The South Australian Brewing, Malting, and Wine and Spirit Company. Substantial additions (

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...

vestries A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spent nearly one-fi ...

, arches and apse) were made to St. Peter's Cathedral,

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 ...

in memory of Alfred Simms by his wife. *Harry Simms was a member of the Melbourne Stock Exchange. Around 1900 he left Australia to live in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, England. *Clara Jane Simms (1855 – ) married solicitor Paul Frederick "Fred" Bonnin (died 14 September 1901) on 25 December 1876. :She married again, to Whitmore Blake Carr (died August 1943), on 2 June 1904. *Elinor/Eleanor Ann Simms (1857 – 2 February 1900) married Alexander Frederick Fisher of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

on 25 November 1879. She divorced him in 1887. She married again, to solicitor Charles Grant Varley on 5 May 1888. *Louisa Simms (c. 1857 – 24 April 1910) married Cavendish Lister Colley (c. 1848 – 14 April 1906), son of

R. B. Colley Richard Bowen Colley (13 December 1819 – 28 May 1875) was the first mayor of City of Holdfast Bay, Glenelg, South Australia. Colley was born in London and visited South Australia in the 1830s, then emigrated with his family on the ''Competitor ...

on 12 December 1883. *Edward "Ned" Simms (c. 1864 – 1 September 1909) married Emma Louise "Louie" Noltenius, daughter of Henry Noltenius on 8 May 1890. They lived at Victoria Place, Glenelg, overlooking Colley Reserve. Simms suffered greatly from rheumatism in later life and made trips to the spas of Germany and New Zealand seeking relief. His end though, was swift and he was buried in St Jude's Church cemetery , Brighton. A stained glass window (depicting St Mark, the Evangelist) in St. Peter's Church, Glenelg, is dedicated to his memory.

Estate

His estate at death was valued at £345,000 (more than AUD 500,000,000 today). A legal dispute arose as to whether gifts he made by deed poll to his family were an attempt to evade succession duty, and therefore liable for double taxation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, William Knox 1830 births 1897 deaths Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Australian brewers 19th-century Australian politicians English emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian businesspeople