A. M. Bickford and Sons was one of the first manufacturing chemists in South Australia. Until 1930, it was one of the State's most significant family-owned companies. In 1930, they amalgamated with half a dozen other similar Australian companies to form "Drug Houses of Australia" (DHA), which continued to produce "A. M. Bickford and Sons" products: "drugs" and "chemicals" under the DHA brand; and cordials and soft drinks under the "A. M. Bickford and Sons" brand.
In the late 1960s, DHA became the target of a corporate raider and asset stripper. By the mid-1970s DHA had collapsed under the burden of servicing the imposed level of debt. What was left was split up and sold. Reckitt & Colman acquired the major "drugs" and "chemicals" product and brands, while other parts of the company were acquired by others. Melburnian Peter Abbott purchased the pharmacy products, eucalyptus oil operations, and soft drink products. The pharmacy products were on-sold; the eucalyptus oil operations were incorporated into "FGB" (Felton Grimwade & Bickford). The soft drink products continued under the revived "A. M. Bickford and Sons" brand. In the late 1980s, FGB decided to concentrate on their "core businesses" under the FGB brand, and sold the soft drink businesses and the Bickford brand names, which by this stage had been established for over a century. The history of the Bickford's products and company names between 1987 and 1999 is not clear.
In 1999 the soft drink business and company names were purchased by the Kotses family. "Bickford's" once again became a South Australian family-owned business, known for its range of cordials and flavourings. These are made today by Bickford's Australia.
Foundation & establishment (1839–1864) William Bickford (1815–1850)
William Bickford (18 August 1815 – 11 September 1850) was the seventh child (of fourteen) of a well-to-do couple of West Alvington of Devon, England. When Bickford's father died, the greater part of his fortune went to his eldest son by an earlier marriage. William's family was provided for, but had to work to secure their future. For the fifteen-year-old William, that meant taking an apprenticeship to Mr Buxton, a druggist.Scales, Marjorie An Alchemist's Dream pub. Ronald F. Bickford 1990
In September 1838, aged 23, the chemist's assistant left England from Plymouth, rounded the Cape of Good Hope in December,The letters of William Bickford to his relatives in England in the period 1838–1850, Archives of the State Library of South Australia. (Click on the "Archival items" tab for a list of the letters.) and arrived in Port Adelaide on 15 February 1839 on the barque Platina. Though he aspired to become a shepherd in South Australia, soon after his arrival he began working as assistant in the dispensary attached to the North Terrace surgery of one Dr Bright at a salary of 40/- (£2) a week with board and lodging provided. On 18 August 1839, his 24th birthday, he married Ann Margaret Garrett, whom he had met on the trip from Portsmouth.Adelaide's first chemist, The Letters of William Bickford, The Register, Saturday 13 June 1925, pg.7. Retrieved 30 January 2011William was a diligent letter writer; a collection of his letters was found in a deed box in the 1920s, and they were placed in the archives of the State Library of South Australia. A two part article summarising their contents appeared in The Register, part I on Saturday 13 June 1925, part II the following Saturday. They were soon expecting their first child, but it died shortly after birth on 6 June 1840, and Ann was seriously ill for some time. In March 1840, William wrote that Dr and Mrs Bright had left the colony for New Zealand, (leaving William to deal with his creditors), and that he had secured another position as manager of a retail shop and dispensary owned by a partnership of two surgeons, at a salary of £3 per week.
Despite an economic downturn in the colony, his business thrived. He left the security of the dispensary and by September 1840 had opened his own shop in Hindley Street near Rosina Street with borrowed capital of £220. It, too, prospered, and soon he moved into larger premises at 67 Hindley Street opposite Club Lane.Mr Harding Bickford, The Advertiser 31 March 1898 p.6 accessed 31 January 2011Harding William Bickford (1877–1919) was the youngest son of Harry (1843–1927)The article reports on "A Valedictory Social" held for Mr Harding Bickford prior to his departure for England to "improve his knowledge of pharmacy". The gathering was presided over by Mr William Bickford (jr. – his uncle), who provided a summary of the history of the company, its key personnel, its locations and its business. As business flourished, the wholesale lines became the larger part of the firm's business.Blue Stone, South Australian Register, 8 April 1843, p.1 col.1Advertisement for the sale of 700lbs of Blue Stone (ie.copper sulphate) "at a low price". Retrieved 31 January 2011
In April 1841 he wrote "Business is going on prosperously, and I have a comfortable home at my own fire side and a good wife, who studies my interest in every respect". Ann was very supportive of her husband and was able to keep his shop running during any forced absence, jury duty for instance. Their first son, William, was born on 19 November 1841, followed by Harry in February 1843, and Elizabeth in November 1844. In December 1845 they lost a baby, (Eulalia), so William decided to move his family away from the unsanitary conditions of the city. He purchased 16 acres (6.4 ha) of land at Glen Osmond, "just 3 miles from the Adelaide city centre", and in the winter of 1846 built a house, later to be called "Benacre","Benacre" was named after the village of Benacre in Suffolk, and the neighbouring Benacre Estate . moving the family there before the onset of the next summer. He commuted daily to his business in the city. They lost another baby, (James), in 1848, but Edward was born in 1849.
William was concerned with the development of Adelaide. In 1847 he was one of the founders of the South Australian Institute (alongside others, including a business competitor Francis Faulding).South Australian Institute South Australian Advertiser 27 October 1863 p.4 accessed 5 March 2011
In February 1850, William wrote that he had established a garden and had planted fruit trees and vines. However, he did not live to enjoy the fruits, dying on 11 September 1850 at the age of 35 of "brain fever", after a 3-day illness, leaving his wife pregnant (with Mary) and with four young children, (William, Harry, Elizabeth and Edward) to care for.Adelaide's first chemist (part 2), The Letters of William Bickford, The Register, Saturday 20 June 1925, pg.8. Retrieved 30 January 2011
Ann Margaret Bickford
Ann Margaret Bickford (née Garrett) (1810 – 24 January 1877) was determined to carry on her husband's business. With five children under the age of ten, she enrolled the help of a retired pharmacist Mr Paxton to 'hold the fort' until more permanent help could be found. She soon engaged qualified chemists Edwin Page and Robert Hutton, and "with their able assistance" carried on the business for 14 years. (Mr Hutton was to open a pharmacy of his own at 76 Rundle Street in 1863.Advertisement South Australian Register 18 November 1863 p.1 accessed 5 March 2011) On 29 May 1865 the shop shifted yet again – to 19 Hindley Street,Advertisement South Australian Advertiser 12 June 1865 p.1 accessed 4 May 2011 later the site of Tattersall's Hotel.
Early 1873 they opened a shop in Taylor Street, Kadina.Advertisement South Australian Register 18 February 1873 p.6 accessed 4 March 2011 It ceased being advertised in 1888.
Remarkably, her death was marked in the newspapers of the time with the most cursory of death notices and no more.Deaths South Australian Register Thursday 25 January 1877 p.4 accessed 5 March 2011 Whatever funeral arrangements there might have been were not advertised. A vault at West Terrace Cemetery bears the names of both Ann and William Snr. A nearby stone commemorates Charlotte Jane Bickford.
Second generation The second generation were: unnamed Bickford on 6 June 1840 William Bickford (19 November 1841 – 20 September 1916) Harry Bickford (24 February 1843 – 6 September 1927 Elizabeth "Bessie" Bickford on 29 November 1844 – England)visited her grandparents home village of West Alvington and married Henry T. Adams of nearby Kingsbridge, Devon11 Sep 1884 – Family Notices. Trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved on 16 July 2013. Eulelia Bickford (8 November 1846 – 25 February 1847) James Bickford (19 February 1848 – 29 February 1848) Edward Bickford (30 May 1849 – 7 January 1907, Brooklyn, New York, United States)Edward Bickford, Death notice, 20 February 1907, The Advertiser, pg.6. Retrieved 8 February 2011On 7 January, at Brooklyn, New York, America, Edward, youngest son of the late William Bickford of Adelaide, aged 57 years. Mary Bickford (25 April 1851 – 12 December 1882 Bournemouth, England)Mary Bickford, Death notice, 24 January 1883, The Register, p. 4. Retrieved 8 February 2011On 12 December, at Bournemouth, Hants, England, Mary, youngest daughter of the late William and Ann M. Bickford, of Adelaide, South Australia.
The children's education did not suffer. They were already studying at the Adelaide Educational Institution, an academy run by J. L. Young in Freeman Street, and continued there for some years. Harry (or Henry as he was then called), was thriving there in 1853.Adelaide Educational Institution The South Australian Register 16 June 1853 p. 3 accessed 10 February 2011 Both he and Edward were mentioned at the prizegiving in 1855Adelaide Educational Institution The South Australian Register Tuesday 16 December 1856 accessed 10 February 2011 Harry kept a close association with his alma mater, being president of the Adelaide Educational Institution Old Scholars in 1866.Old Scholars Dinner South Australian Register Saturday 15 September 1866 p. 3 accessed 10 February 2011
Although not as academically inclined, William must have made his mark as he was prominent in the Institution's 1863 welcome to "old scholars" W. P. Auld, James Frew and Stephen King, returning members of the Stuart's sixth expedition which had successfully crossed Australia from south to north.Dinner to Auld Frew and King South Australian Register 31 January 1863 p.3 accessed 10 February 2011
William Bickford (1841–1916)
Older son William Bickford (jr.) (19 November 1841 – 20 September 1916), being less academically inclined than Harry, gained experience travelling and picking up a variety of jobs.
In 1871 he married Margaret Jane Ferguson.Daughter of William Ferguson (1809–1892) and Rosina (née Forsyth) (1810–1893) They had seven children: William Ferguson Bickford "Willie" (30 November 1871 – 22 June 1889) died aged 17 in riding accident Sidney Bickford (10 August 1874 – 10 December 1938) moved to Perth in 1895. Harold Bickford (16 May 1876 – 23 October 1958) Managing director A. M. Bickford & Sons Ltd 1908–1930?dates from gravestone in St Jude's Cemetery He married Tessie Veronica Murphy in 1916; they had one child, Ronald Ferguson Bickford (1918–2011); he divorced her in 1922 citing four co-respondents, including Napier K. Birks (1876–1953) of the prominent Birks family. Evelyn Victoria Bickford (later Mrs Robert Ezekiel Reid of Geelong) (b.7 June 1878) Reginald Bickford (26 January 1880 – 20 November 1948) m. Rosa Florence Cudmore (30 September 1879 – 22 July 1954)both sets of dates from gravestone in St Jude's Cemetery on 17 November 1910 Norman Forsyth Bickford (1881 – ) Leslie Bruce Bickford (b.30 December 1885 at Alvington) m. Dorothy Murray
Their first home was "Fairfield" in Somerton, followed by "Alvington" near the Brighton Esplanade (see chapter below). Both William and Harry sent their sons to St Peter's College, a tradition that was largely continued in following generations.