Bean Brothers

Bean Brothers was a company based in Adelaide, South Australia involved in tanning, leathergoods and shipping ventures in the latter half of the 19th century. Bean Brothers Ltd was set up by the principals to consolidate their assets and develop as wool and produce brokers. They also founded the Adelaide and Port Darwin Sugar Company to develop a sugar plantation in the Northern Territory of Australia. Both ventures failed amid acrimony, recrimination and lawsuits.

The firm of Bean Brothers were leather, wool and produce brokers. In 1882 its principals floated a company Bean Brothers Limited to take over their assets.

Robert Laundy Ingham and George Bean Snr. established the Thebarton Tannery in competition with William Peacock. In 1839 the partnership was dissolved and Bean Snr. took over the business. In 1840 Bean Snr. opened a shop in Hindley Street previously held by a Mr Crabb, and a year later moved to premises vacated by the firm of Grieve & Campbell on Rundle Street. He was declared insolvent in 1859. A creditor, ex-employee Carl Schoening, charged that Mr Bean withheld cash transactions from the accounts books. Other books which might have supported his claims were not to be found. At this time all three sons were in his employ.

He passed the tannery on to son William H. Bean in 1860. and moved to Sandhurst, Victoria (now named Bendigo), where he was jailed for bankruptcy. In 1861 G. T. Bean, W. H. Bean and Arthur Bean opened as Bean Brothers in larger premises at 108 Hindley Street, retaining the tannery and grindery at Torrensville. "On 20th January 1865 William Henry Bean, George Thomas Bean and Arthur Bean, of Torrenside, Tanners, were granted Title to 15 acres, part of Section 46 embracing the whole of the area later covered by Fauldings’ premises in Reid Street..." The adjacent Beans Road (now part of Dew Street) may have been named for them. They commenced making shoe and boot uppers, and by the end of 1865 had 14 workers so engaged in King William Street, in part of the building owned by J. Clarkson & Co.

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