Photo courtesy SLSA B2515
The Beginning
In January 1865, two Scotsmen formed the partnership of Duncan & Fraser and leased a modest,
2 storey premises at 37 Franklin Street, Adelaide.
James Duncan, a coach builder by
trade and
James Fraser, a coach painter by trade quickly earned a
reputation for quality at a reasonable price. Indeed, after less than 2 years in
partnership they won the prestigious Gold Medal for the "Best Carriage" exhibited at the Duke of
Edinburgh’s Exhibition held in Adelaide in 1867.
The founder James Duncan & James Fraser taken from the company's 1919 handbook. Photo courtesy of Ian Duncan Smith.
Easter 1869 saw Duncan & Fraser
bring a curious new invention to Adelaide - the velocipede. The partners
caused quite a stir by riding the contraption around the streets of Adelaide
with hundreds of people visiting the factory to see it. However, the arrival
of the "Penny Farthing" bicycle rendered the velocipede obsolete over night.
Sadly only 50 velocipedes were made when production ceased.
Within 5 years the growth of the partnership found their existing factory
too cramped. Literally over the road a was a run down ice factory on much
larger premises. In January 1870 a long lease was secured and the partnership
moved into their second factory at 42 Franklin Street. This street address
remained with Duncan & Fraser until their closure.
A photo of the second factory is the photo in the title page above. This photo taken in 1870 is the earliest known photo of Duncan & Fraser to exist. This amazing photo is courtesy of the State Library of South Australia B2515.
Trams
The partnership toiled hard in the early years and their efforts were rewarded in 1873
being commissioned to build 2 railway carriages for the Adelaide, Glenelg & Suburban
Railway Co. By 1876 Adelaide was in desperate need of public transport and the Adelaide &
Suburban Tramway Co. was formed. Little has changed in 100 odd years with
the authorities of the day also choosing not to listen to local advice. The decision having
been made, Adelaide's first 20 horse drawn trams were fully imported from John Stephenson &
Co., New York.
On arrival the American manufactured tramcars were found to be unassembled, required painting, assembly
and numbering before they could be used. Duncan & Fraser was the only company in Adelaide
that had this type of experience and were invited to overcome the problem charging £20 per
tram. A valuable lesson was learned and from that point on all of Adelaide’s trams were
locally built until only recently.
By 1884 the partnership sought larger premises to accommodate their growing coach, buggy and
tram building businesses. 16 acres of land was secured near the Kilkenny railway siding.
Adjacent to the Port Adelaide railway line, Duncan & Fraser's huge third factory was where
all larger type work was carried out for many years.
Sadly in 1886 James Fraser fell gravely ill and suddenly passed away on 1st August. James Duncan
bought out the partnership for an undisclosed amount from his widow. As a mark of
respect for his trusted friend and business partner, the Fraser name remained an integral
part of the business for the entire life of the company.
By 1909 both South Australia and Victoria were electrifying their tramway
systems. Duncan & Fraser built the first 100 electric trams for Adelaide.
Cities and towns such as Melbourne, Ballarat,
Bendigo and Geelong all had fleets
of Duncan & Fraser electric trams with many of them still operational well
into the 1960's.
Duncan & Fraser trams; an old horse
drawn tram being passed by a new 'B' type electric tram on Hackney Road, Adelaide
c1909. Photo courtesy of SLSA B4364.
The Dawn Of A New Era
In 1900
Lewis Cycle Works invited Duncan & Fraser to build the body on their first car.
This is noted as being Duncan & Fraser’s first automobile body. In May 1903 James Duncan
was overseas when he cabled his sons in the business:
“...I can see a time when the automobile would oust the buggy from the roads...”
James Duncan instructed his sons to hire a salesman as he had secured the Oldsmobile
automobile agency. The Duncan brothers answered an advert from the local newspaper and sent
their office boy to invite the person for an interview. The office boy was Fred Mann and
the person employed was Bert Cheney, both of whom would have a profound impact on our
state in the years to come.
Duncan & Fraser had taken the unique step of arranging a showroom, complete
with a salesman, spare parts, accessories, clothing and driving instruction,
a first for South Australia. On 23rd September 1903 the “Curved Dash” 5HP
Oldsmobile arrived in Adelaide priced at £180. Unpacking the car presented
the problem of how to drive it. Reading the manual and starting the engine
the car "leaped" into an office. With no damage done and only their pride
a little dented, a company representative took the car around to Dr. Gunson
where he took delivery of the first vehicle on the same day.
In late September 1903 a small group of Adelaide's most prominent citizens decided that a
club needed to be formed to cater for the new automobile. This new organisation was called
The Automotive & Motor Cycling Club of South Australia. Founding members included James
Duncan, his youngest son Richard and wife Florence. The Automotive & Motor Cycling
Club of South Australia has survived the years and is now known as the
Royal Automobile Association.
By 1905 the existing factory at Franklin was simply too small to accommodate
the rapidly expanding automobile business. The old buildings that had served
the partnership so well were demolished for a new 2 storey, brick fronted
factory. Completed in 1906, the new factory fronted a whopping 182' on Franklin
Street and was now the largest automobile dealership of its time.
Through the Franklin Street construction period James Duncan stubbornly
refused to hand over control and still managed all of the business affairs.
Gradually getting older and more weaker, he finally passed away in 2nd July
1908. The business was now left to his four sons; James Newell, Robert,
Archie & Richard.
Duncan & Fraser secured many automobile agencies apart from the Oldsmobile
including the Orient Buckboard, Argyll, Standard, Singer, Chalmers & BSA.
Their greatest coo was in August 1909 securing the sole distributorship
for the Ford Model‘T’ for South Australia and Broken Hill against the wishes
of their head salesman.
The Ford 'T' sold extremely well, so well in fact that by 1912 the "new" factory was too small and
extra space was again sought. The Duncan’s decided to use public subscription and on 13th
June 1913 the new company was duly registered. The partnership of Duncan & Fraser was now
a private company - Duncan & Fraser Limited. Opening hours were lodged as 9am-5pm week
days and 10am-noon on Saturdays.
As war broke out around the world in 1914, Duncan & Fraser Ltd. would not
stop any employee from enlisting. As a matter of fact, Duncan & Fraser Ltd.
agreed to hold any postion open for any enlisted employee on their return,
the same as it had been during the Boer war. The company set up a fund to
assist families and widows during this time.
Duncan & Fraser Limited in full swing; 7 out of every 10 cars were Ford cars c1915. Photo courtesy of the Royal Automobile Association.
The Boom Years
Finally in November 1918 came
the armistice. With soldiers returning from service, Australia had to come
to terms of life after the war. Sales of automobiles after the war continued
to soar and the cheap, reliable Ford 'T' was a driving factor.
Although there was a minor resurgence of horse drawn transport during the war, the space
required to service it was disproportional to its minimal income. In April 1919 Duncan & Fraser
Ltd. announced that all facets of horse drawn transport would be discontinued in favour
of the motor car.
In late 1918 Duncan & Fraser Limited published their own internal magazine
called "The Echo" with a copy being distributed free to every staff member
and employee. It was initially published quarterly, but by 1922 interest had
grown significantly and "The Echo" became a monthly publication. "The Echo"
was discontinued in late 1924.
The parent Ford Motor Company in Canada was unhappy about most of the Australian Ford distributorships
selling other makes of cars apart from the Ford. Following the company’s directive,
Duncan & Fraser Ltd. annexed the Ford agency. In October 1920 Duncan Motors Ltd. was
formed to sell and service all Ford products with Duncan & Fraser Ltd. selling all other
makes.
The early 1920's were boom years where car sales reached record numbers. Duncan
Motors Ltd. released their new body that comprehensively modernised the Ford.
Duncan & Fraser Ltd. has secured the lucrative Studebaker car agency. The
last of the tram contracts had been fulfilled and the 16 acre Kilkenny site
was sold off to Holden Motor Bodies. The funds raised were used to purchase
land and build a new factory specially designed to manufacture cars. This
new factory at Mile End, Duncan & Fraser's fourth, was designed to be rectangular
in shape allowing for an assembly line type process, similar to the system
perfected in 1913 by Henry Ford in Detroit to manufacture the Ford 'T'.
On the morning of 21st February 1923 disaster struck the company when smoke
was seen billowing out of the Franklin Street factory. Within a matter of
minutes the fire brigade were at the scene. Fueled by petrol and oil and with
no internal sprinkler system, the fire rapidly took hold and consumed everything
in its wake. Just 3 hours later the once proud Franklin Street premises was
a smoldering mess. Although the factory had been totally destroyed, fortunately
there was no loss of life. The cost of Adelaide's largest fire was in excess
of £90,000.
Businesses all around Adelaide offered their help. Duncan & Fraser Ltd. &
Duncan Motors Ltd. had to set up as quickly as possible allowing them to continue
to trade. The new factory at Mile End was under construction and was only
3' high. The Duncans had no option but rent temporary buildings and workshops
all over town. A testament to the management, staff and employees of Duncan
& Fraser Ltd. is within a couple of weeks of the fire they were already assembling
8 cars per day including Fords and Studebakers. This is a commendable achievement
considering all their assembly tools, jigs & fixtures were destroyed in the
fire.
The fire of 21st February totally
destroyed the Franklin Street factory with only 8 cars being saved. Photo
courtesy SLSA B46119.
The French Report
For quite a while complaints had
been filtering back to Ford Canada about the huge discrepancies across the
states with regard to the cost of new Ford cars, spare parts and service.
In late 1923 Ford Canada sent two delegates, Hubert French & Mel Brooks, to
Australia to investigate these consumer complaints.
By January 1924 French and Brooks had arrived in Adelaide after previously
visiting the Ford distributorships in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.
Like all of the other states, French was not impressed by the South Australian
distributors and clashed almost immediately with the management of Duncan
Motors Ltd. However, French did concede that the bodies being built by Duncan
& Fraser Ltd. and being sold through Duncan Motors Ltd. were the best he had
seen on his travels. However, this did little to arrest his low opinion. His
200 odd page report on the Australian operations was so damming that it changed
the way that the Ford Motor Co. does business in Australia to this day.
August 1924 saw the new 3 story factory on Franklin Street open for business.
Heralded at the time as the largest, special built car factory in the state and
coupled with their own fully operational assembly line at Mile End, Duncan & Fraser Ltd.
were back in full production at minimum cost. These excellent purpose built facilities
was not what French wanted to see on his return. In March 1925 the Ford Motor
Company of Australia was formed with Hubert French as their first Managing Director.
Ford Australia’s first Ford was assembled at the Dalgety Wool stores in Geelong and
were all fitted with Adelaide made bodies built by Duncan & Fraser Ltd. and supplied through
Duncan Motors Ltd.
The "phoenix rises from the ashes". The new factory at Franklin Street called the Duncan Buildings was opened in August 1924. Photo courtesy of Ian Duncan Smith
The Closure
By May 1926 the genuine "all steel"
body panels were being imported by Ford Australia directly from Ford Canada
and assembled at the new Ford factory now located at Corio Bay, Geelong.
The imported steel body replaced the Adelaide built body and thus ended
independent body building by any or all of the states including Duncan &
Fraser Ltd. and South Australia on Ford cars.
In the face of the oncoming Great Depression, Ford Canada announced in August
1927 that production of the Ford ‘T’ would finally cease. Ford Australia
followed suit a week later. All the Ford agents including Duncan Motors
Ltd. were informed that they would not have any Ford cars to sell for an
estimated 12 months whilst the factories in America, Canada& Australia retooled
for the new Model ‘A’. This effectively ended one of the most lucrative
car agencies this country had ever seen.
Faced with no Ford cars to sell, Duncan & Fraser Limited's other car agencies combined were
simply not profitable enough to keep them afloat. The Duncan brothers were faced with the
awful business reality of costs exceeding income with no foreseeable way forward. Based on
the company's diminishing financial position, the Duncan brothers and the Board of
Directors voted and accepted management's proposal to simply cease trading.
In late August 1927, after 62 years of solid work, Duncan & Fraser Ltd. and hence Duncan
Motors Ltd. closed their doors for the last time.
Like their trams and buggies, they too were now part of Adelaide's history...
Bibliography
- Australasian Coach Builder (various editions)
- Cheneymotor (1955)
- Duncan & Fraser Handbook 1865 - 1919 (1919)
- Duncan & Fraser Ltd.- Legacies Left Untold (2008)
- Duncan & Fraser "The Echo" (1918-1924)
- Duncan Family Correspondence (author's notes)
- From Horse to Horsepower (1965)
- Maughan Thiem Motor Company Ltd. 1912-1982 (1982)
- SA Motor (1913-1927)
- "The Advertiser" newspaper (various editions)
- "The Register" newspaper (various editions)
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