Richard Smith (businessman)


Richard Smith was a partner and managing director of the Adelaide, South Australia, firm of George P. Harris, Scarfe & Co., later known as Harris Scarfe. His son Harold Law-Smith was prominent in the history of the company.

History

Smith was born in Westerham or Brasted, Kent, son of William Smith and Ann Smith, née Solomon. He received a good education and worked for a firm of ironmongers in Coventry.
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, and transferred to Gawler Place in 1864.
Smith was employed as a travelling salesman, serving customers in the rapidly developing districts of the South East and Yorke 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 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
and was a
A window in St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide was dedicated to his memory

Family

Richard Smith married Emma Law, daughter of John Law 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: