11 September 1850 William Bickford

William Bickford arrived in South Australia from Devon in 1839 with the intention of sheep farming, but he found the price of sheep and cattle to be too high and changed his mind. He decided to take up his profession as a chemist and sent to England for stocks of drugs and other requisites and opened the first druggist shop in Adelaide. It was very successful but unfortunately on the 11 September 1850, after three days illness, he died at the age of only 38 years. His wife carried on the business then passed it into the hands of their sons, William and Harry, when they were old enough. They expanded it into one of the leading druggists in South Australia trading under the name of A.M. Bickford and Sons. The name is still carried on in the well known Bickford’s Lime Juice Cordial.

George Loyau, Notable South Australians, p.16.