Charles Farr (builder)

Charles Farr (c. 1812 – 25 February 1888) was a timber merchant and builder in the young colony of South Australia.

History

Charles Farr c. 1885

Farr emigrated to South Australia from Britain aboard D'Auvergne arriving in March 1839.

Portion Victoria Square and Franklin Street taken from the GPO tower in 1865. Farr's woodyard in middle foreground.

Farr, by trade a bricklayer, had premises on Hindley Street, and by 1850 owned a business on Franklin Street, a timber yard possibly purchased from Philip Santo.[1] By 1868 he employed up to 115 men and his sawmill and timber yard, which employed around 35 men, extended over two acres between Franklin and Grote streets, and included the Farr residence.[2] He later moved to Waymouth Street, then in 1883 moved to Grote Street, west of Brown Street. That same year he had a timber yard in Wakefield Street.[3]

His two sons, who were educated at J. L. Young's Adelaide Educational Institution, were brought into the business, but later went their separate ways: Charles George was licensee of the Talbot Hotel, Gouger Street, then the International Hotel, Rundle Street; Alfred was city manager for Walter & Morris, who owned the Sarnia timber mills in Port Adelaide,[4] and influential president of the Builders and Contractors' Association.[5]

Farr died after several years an invalid. His remains were interred in the West Terrace Cemetery.

He evidently had good relations with the men in his employ, and paid skilled tradesmen slightly more than other employers; from 8/6d to 10s. per day.[6] For twenty years his company was probably second only to English & Brown / Brown & Thompson, who owned the Glen Ewin quarry.[7]

Some works

Built	Name	Architect	Client	Location	Notes
1856	Head office	Edmund Wright	Union Bank	Pirie Street	Became "Union Hall", Adelaide headquarters of WCTU 1896, demolished 1925
1858[8]	Church of the Immaculate Conception	G. S. Kingston	Catholic Church	Port Adelaide
1859	Branch office	E. Wright	Bank of South Australia	Commercial Road, Port Adelaide
1859	Branch office	E. Wright	Union Bank	Lipson Street, Port Adelaide
1860[9]	Head office	James Macgeorge	South Australian Savings Bank	King William Street
1863[10]	Coal store and retort house		SA Gas Company	Brompton
1863–1869	Adelaide Town Hall	E. Wright E. J. Woods	Adelaide City Council	King William Street
1864[11]	Chemist's shop	R. G. Thomas	Mrs. A. M. Bickford	Hindley Street
1864[12]	Warehouse	G. S. Kingston	George P. Harris	Gawler Place, Adelaide	became Harris Scarfe
1865[13]	"Kingsmead House"	E. Wright, E. J. Woods	Charles Jacobs	75–78 Brougham Place
1865	Athelney	E. Wright, E. J. Woods	P. D. Prankerd	Athelney Avenue, Kent Town	Peter Dodding Prankerd married Lucy Amelia Wright, sister of the architect. They sold Athelney to H. B. Hughes in 1874. Now part of St Peter's College
1866	Wine and spirit store	Daniel Garlick	S. R. Hall	King William Street	adjacent a similar store same owner and architect but built by English & Brown.
1867[14]	Department store	G. S. Kingston	George P. Harris	Rundle Street	became Harris Scarfe
1868[15]	Prince Alfred College	D. Garlick	Methodist Church	Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town	foundation stone was laid by HRH Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, on 5 November 1867.[16]
1869	Buck's Head Hotel	D. Garlick	W. H. Gray	North Terrace, Adelaide	rebuilt on same site
1868[17]	Parkside Lunatic Asylum	D. Garlick	SA Government	cnr Greenhill and Brownhill Creek (now Fullarton) roads
1868[17]	York Hotel	D. Garlick		cnr Rundle & Pulteney streets	rebuilt on same site
1869[18]	Norwood Baptist Church	James Cumming	Baptist Association	The Parade, Norwood
1871,1872[19]	East, west wings	J. Cumming	Bushmen's Club	SE corner, Whitmore Square	sold to the Salvation Army (the current owner) in 1899
1871[20]	Norwood Public School	J. Cumming	Education Department	The Parade, Norwood
1871[20]	Extension	G. S. Kingston	Bank of Australasia	King William Street
1873	Residence	D. Garlick	Thomas Magarey	Mills Terrace, N.A.
1875[21]	"Kalymna"	T. English	C. A. Hornabrook	28 Dequetteville Tce, Kent Town	still stands, as "Oreon House"
1876[22]	drapery shop	D. Garlick	T. Wilcox	cnr. Rundle & Pulteney streets
1876[22]	King's Head Hotel	T. English	W. Thomson	King William Street	rebuilt on same site
1877[22]	Universal Buildings	T. English	L. A. Jessop M. C. Davis	Grenfell Street
1878[23]	Blind, Deaf and Dumb Institution	T. English		Brighton Road, Brighton	New building in front of the old one, previously the "Grace Darling Hotel".
1878	Royal Admiral Hotel	T. English	C. Banbury	Hindley Street	rebuilt on same site
1878[24]	extensions	D. Garlick	G. & R. Wills
1879	Southern Cross Hotel	D. Garlick	William Chambers F. J. Blades	King William Street	rebuilt on same site
1879[25]	Clubhouse "Albert Hall"	G. R. Johnson[26]	Deutsche Club	Pirie Street	sold to the Salvation Army in September 1898, and became its HQ, "Memorial Hall"
1879[27]	stores	D. Garlick	J. Hodgkiss & Co.	Stephens Place, Adelaide
1879[27]	clubhouse	T. English	New South Australian Club	Pirie Street	Not to be confused with (Trew's) South Australian Club Hotel on North Terrace,[28] this was an exclusive establishment comparable to the Adelaide Club. An earlier incarnation (1839–44) on Hindley Street, whose members included Sturt, Morphett and Fisher[29][30] failed financially.
1880	Exchange Building / Queens Exchange	E. Wright]] J. H. Reed		eastern corner, Pirie Street and Exchange Lane	"Commercial Union Building" demolished 1980
1880[31]	Exchange Building	E. Wright	Exchange Land Company	Currie Street
1882	Adelaide Swimming Baths		Adelaide City Council	King William Road
1882	Warehouse	David Williams, jr.	Blackwell, Felstead, & Co.	Pirie Street, Adelaide
1884	Clubhouse	Smeaton	YMCA	cnr. Grenfell Street and Gawler Place
1885[32]	Institute	R. Rees		Summertown
1885[33]	shops	D. Garlick	E & W. Hackett	Rundle Street
1887	Western annexe, Jubilee Exhibition Building	Withall & Wells		North Terrace	for Adelaide Jubilee International Exhibition

Family

Farr married Sophia Morris (c. 1813 – 19 March 1879) before leaving for South Australia. Their children were:

• Charlotte Farr (c. February 1839 – 4 September 1866) married Harry Bickford (1843–1927) on 24 February 1866. They had no children. He married again, on 10 March 1870 to Rosina Mary Ferguson (1845 – 5 October 1898). There was a dispute over a North Adelaide block given to Charlotte by Farr.[34]
• Sophia Farr (1843 – 30 June 1918) died at the home of her sister Martha Laurence
• Charles George Farr (1845 – 1 April 1908) married Paruna Minnie Ann "Mina" Russell (c. 1863 – 4 August 1940) on 26 June 1879
• Alfred Farr (1847 – 29 May 1912) married Mary Prynn Sands ( – 7 March 1903) in 1865, lived on Hurtle Square. He married again in 1905 to Ann McInnes, died at Jaffrey Street, Parkside.

• Alfred John Farr ( – 1938) married Mary Lucy Greayer ( – ) on 20 May 1907

• Martha Farr (1849– ) married Walter Laurence ( – ) on 8 February 1871

• Walter James Laurence (1883–1907)

• Eliza Farr (1851 – 10 January 1930) died at Napier Terrace, Hawthorn

They had a home on Franklin Street, and from around 1880 on Grove Street, Unley Park, where he died. This residence may have previously been the property of Dugald Herschel Babbage.[35]

References

1. "Another Pioneer Gone". The Express and Telegraph. XXV (7, 260). South Australia. 27 February 1888. p. 3. Retrieved 25 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
2. "The Sawmills of Adelaide". South Australian Register. XXXII (6741). South Australia. 15 June 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia. Also mentioned are J. Pulsford, E. Wentzel, H. W. Ehmcke, English & Brown / Brown & Thompson, A. Clausen.
3. "A natural curiosity". The Express and Telegraph. XX (5, 915). South Australia. 24 September 1883. p. 2. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "The Sarnia Timber Mills, Port Adelaide". Adelaide Observer. LX (3, 224). South Australia. 18 July 1903. p. 22. Retrieved 2 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "About Men and Women". The Express and Telegraph. XXXIX (11, 669). South Australia. 30 August 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 2 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "The Labor Question—Meeting at the Hotel Europe". The Adelaide Express. III (800). South Australia. 28 July 1866. p. 3. Retrieved 30 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
7. "Glen Ewin Quarry". The Express and Telegraph. IV (999). South Australia. 29 March 1867. p. 3. Retrieved 30 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia. The principals of the two companies were Thomas English, Henry Brown (died 30 May 1881) and Henry Thompson (died 4 March 1890)
8. "Port Adelaide". The South Australian Advertiser. I (31). South Australia. 16 August 1858. p. 2. Retrieved 29 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
9. "The New Savings Bank". The South Australian Advertiser. III (685). South Australia. 25 September 1860. p. 4. Retrieved 29 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "The South Australian Gas Company's Works". The South Australian Advertiser. V (1375). South Australia. 17 December 1862. p. 2. Retrieved 29 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "Architectural Improvements". South Australian Register. XXVIII (5665). South Australia. 24 December 1864. p. 6. Retrieved 29 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
12. "Opening of Mr. G. P. Harris's Store, Gawler-place". South Australian Weekly Chronicle. VI (300). South Australia. 30 April 1864. p. 5. Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
13. "Adelaidepedia: Kingsmead House". Retrieved 25 October 2018.
14. "Building Improvements in the City". The South Australian Advertiser. South Australia. 16 January 1867. p. 2. Retrieved 28 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
15. "Building Improvements". South Australian Register. XXXII (6626). South Australia. 31 January 1868. p. 4. Retrieved 29 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
16. "Visit of H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh". The Express and Telegraph. IV (1, 184). South Australia. 6 November 1867. p. 2. Retrieved 30 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
17. "Building Improvements". South Australian Register. XXXIII (6938). South Australia. 2 February 1869. p. 4. Retrieved 29 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
18. "Latest News". The Evening Journal (Adelaide). I (60). South Australia. 13 March 1869. p. 2. Retrieved 25 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
19. "Adelaidepedia: Bushmen's Club". Retrieved 25 October 2018.
20. "Building Improvements for 1871". South Australian Register. XXXVII (7842). South Australia. 4 January 1872. p. 7. Retrieved 29 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
21. "Private Houses". South Australian Register. XLI (9098). South Australia. 12 January 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 30 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
22. "Building Improvements during 1876". The South Australian Advertiser. XIX (5687). South Australia. 10 January 1877. p. 6. Retrieved 31 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
23. "The Blind and Deaf and Dumb Institution". The Express and Telegraph. XIII (3, 872). South Australia. 25 November 1876. p. 3. Retrieved 30 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
24. "Building Improvements for 1878". South Australian Register. XLIV (10, 025). South Australia. 1 January 1879. p. 1. Retrieved 31 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
25. "Opening of the German Clubhouse". The South Australian Advertiser. South Australia. 15 July 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 31 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
26. George R. Johnson was a Melbourne architect, later based in Perth, remembered as designer of the Cremorne Theatre, Perth, opened 1896. He died of blood poisoning 25 November 1898 aboard Pilbarra between Albany and Adelaide
27. "Building Improvements during 1879". South Australian Register. XLV (10, 338). South Australia. 2 January 1880. p. 5. Retrieved 31 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
28. "Trew's South Australian Club Hotel". The South Australian Advertiser. South Australia. 29 October 1879. p. 5. Retrieved 3 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
29. "Henry Calton versus South Australian Club". The Southern Australian. IV (263). South Australia. 23 November 1841. p. 4. Retrieved 3 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
30. "Resident Magistrate's Court". The Adelaide Observer. III (156). South Australia. 20 June 1846. p. 4. Retrieved 3 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
31. "Opening of the New Exchange". South Australian Register. XLV (10, 494). South Australia. 2 July 1880. p. 6. Retrieved 1 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
32. "Opening of Summertown Institute". South Australian Register. L (11, 922). South Australia. 29 January 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 2 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
33. "Building Improvements". South Australian Register. L (11, 969). South Australia. 25 March 1885. p. 5. Retrieved 2 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
34. "Supreme Court — In Banco". South Australian Register. LI (12, 376). South Australia. 14 July 1886. p. 7. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
35. "Land and House Property". The South Australian Advertiser. South Australia. 11 November 1879. p. 1. Retrieved 2 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.