19 May 1845   F.H. Faulding and Company

On 19 May 1845 F.H. Faulding, the son of a surgeon, opened the doors of his business as a chemist at 5 Rundle Street. He arrived in South Australia after a brief stay in Sydney in 1842. His business grew rapidly as he made remedies for stock as well as people and he bought a site in Clarence Place, off King William Street, to give him more room for his manufacturing and wholesale business.

In 1861 the firm F.H. Faulding and Company was formed when Francis Faulding went into partnership with Luther Scammell, a physician who had opened a pharmacy at Hindmarsh in 1849 and one in Port Adelaide some time later.

In subsequent years the partners followed with interest the work of men like Pasteur, Koch and Lister, and Florence Nightingale. Unfortunately Faulding did not live to see the major advances in medicine as he died on 19 November 1868 at his home 'Wooton Lea' Glen Osmond (now Seymour College) without issue. Luther Scammell purchased Faulding's share in the business and later took Philip Daker and Robert Foale into partnership and the business continued to expand. 

Scammell did have sons and in due course they were trained in pharmacy and came into the firm. World War I saw a great demand for pharmaceutical supplies and, with imports cut, the company was able to meet the increased local requirements. In 1923 the large laboratories at Thebarton were built and the company also became established in other states. In 1988 the company averted a takeover bid from ICI.

1845-1945 A Century of Medical Progress.