Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), Wednesday 7 September 1927, page 19


DEATH OF MR. HARRY BICKFORD.

AN ESTEEMED CITIZEN.

Mr. Harry Bickford, who died on Tues-day at the age of 84 after a prolonged illness, was one of the pioneers of the

State. He was the third son of Mr. William Bickford, the son of a Devon-shire squire, who came to Australia in the sailing vessel Platina, and established the first retail chemist's shop in South Australia in Hindley-street in 1839. He died at the age of 35, leaving a widow and five children, of whom the eldest was 10. After receiving his training as a chemist in England, Mr. Harry Bickford helped his

mother in the management of the rapidlygrowing business which is now in the name of Messrs. A. M. Bickford & Sons. Mr. Harry Bickford attended to the shop and his elder brother. Mr. William Bick-ford, to the outdoor activities of the firm. A cordial factory was established in Waymonth-street in 1876. and the firm's present site in Currie-street was occupied a few years later. Mr. Harry Bick-ford took an active part in the affairs of the firm, of which he was made chairman of directors in 1906, until the time of his death. He had many outside interests, and was an athlete in his younger days. He was the first president of the Pharmaceutical Association o£ South Aus-tralia, and was the winner of many tro-phies for field pigeon shooting, his principal achievement in this respect being the win-ning of the Gold Cup at the Melbourne Cup Pigeon Shooting Carnival. He was for many years Master of the Adelaide Hunt Club, and was on the committee of the S.A.J.C. from 1896 until 1907, when he left for England. His wife and two sons, Messrs. H. F. and H. W. Bickford, pre-deceased him, and he leaves a daughter, Miss Isobel Bickford, of Prospect. The managing director of the firm, Mr. Harold Bickford. is the son of Mr. Harry Bick-ford's elder brother, William. The development of the business is a record of continual progress, the result of the faculty for looking ahead which has characterised all three generations of the family who have had to do with it. The indomitable courage which caused the young widow of the founder of the firm to retain the business for the benefit of her young children, and to conduct it for years in her own name, has been amply justi-fied. It was she who led the way by developing the small retail shop in Hindley street to the point when it was time to branch out further, and her descen-dants have splendidly maintained the tra-dition. The firm's business was carried into other States by Mr. William Bick-ford, who, despite the poor travelling faci-lities of the day, went with his stocks and samples booking orders as far afield as the towns along the Darling. The fac-tory is replete with all the most up-to-date machinery and appliances, and the Currie-street building was one of the finest in Adelaide at the time of its erection. The same policy of sending the younger members of the family abroad has been followed in the present generation, and cork cutting, which is now an important part of the firm's activities, was specially studied by the present managing director, Mr. Harold Bickford, who paid a visit in 1890 to the works of Mauri Bros., in Seville. It was these family qualities of enterprise and shrewd judgment which earned Mr. Harry Bickford the respect of the community, as his sportsmanship and good fellowship earned its love. His friends were many, made to a great extent in the hunting field, where he and his horse, Barney, were well-known figures for many years. Here he showed the same characteristics which distinguished him in business, a capacity for a quick summing up of obstacles to be overcome, the unerring eye for the straightest route to his objec-tive, followed by the fearless pursuit of that line with a judgment that never failed in the overcoming of such "fences" as might stand in his way. Such a charac-ter, combined with a kindliness of dispo-sition and a love of his fellow-men could not fail to win him the esteem of all with whom he came into contact. His loss will be mourned by a large circle of friends and business associates, as well as by those who, although ther may have known little of him personally, realised what he and the firm he represented stood for in the raising of the prestige of the State in the fields of commerce and manu-facture.

Mr. H- Bickford.