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Private company

Francis Clark and Sons

South Australian engineering business

Francis Clark and Son was an engineering business in the early days of South Australia, which later became Francis Clark and Sons. Francis Clark (1799–1853), previously a silversmith and magistrate in Birmingham, England, founded Francis Clark and Son, importers, with his son J. Howard Clark as accountant soon after migrating to Adelaide with his family in 1850. He then brought in A. Sidney Clark as manager, becoming Francis Clark and Sons, hardware importers and shipping agents of Blyth Street.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

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Francis Clark and Son was an engineering business in the early days of South Australia, which later became Francis Clark and Sons.2

Products and brands

The company was responsible for the first electric lighting system ever installed at Adelaide Oval, for an Australian Rules football match between Adelaide and South Adelaide on 1 July 1885 commencing 8pm. The company supplied six electric arc-lamps, three on either side of the ground, and having two steam-powered dynamos for each three. Four lamps were 1,000 candle-power of Brush manufacture and two of 2,000 candle-power by Siemens. The lamps were mounted on 30-feet poles equally spaced around the Oval just outside the boundary flags. The game was well attended but the illumination proved inadequate for a full enjoyment of the game (especially when the ball's white paint wore off!) and there were momentary lamp failures. Adelaide won the game 1 goal 8 behinds to 8 behinds.

From Wikipedia’s article on Francis Clark and Sons, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Sources

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