William Charlick Ltd expanding in Adelaide and beyond in 1960s but flour milling mainstay facing a downturn
The William Charlick Limited logo in the 1960s reflecte its diversified interests, from Central Australian Airlines to plastics and piping to stock and poultry feeds. C.S. (Claude) Charlick (top right, in portrait by Ivor Hele) retired in 1966 after 43 years as managing director, with the company opening a new larger head office in 1968.
Images courtesy West Torrens Historical Society
Still growing, William Charlicks Ltd in 1968 optimistically opened a new head office block on the former site of the Metal Trading Company on London Road in Adelaide’s Mile End.
The much larger two-storey brick office building, designed by architect John Chappel, was about 100 metres west of the company’s flour mill. But it became too small in few years and a third floor was added.
The strong financial growth for Charlicks, allowing it to expand into areas such as an airline and copra and cocao plantations in Papua New Guinea, had been underpinned since World War II by the success of its City Flour Mills. In the five years to 1949-50, William Charlick Limited recorded an average annual net profit of £36,165. (During these years, Charlicks was one of only two large Adelaide businesses to have a female company secretary: S.E. Eglington.)
Encouraged by its profits, William Charlick Ltd in 1950 became a public company. The first issue of shares was oversubscribed by eight times. By 1953, the company had 250 employees and share capital of £520,000. As the exports of South Australian flour grew to the early 1950s, City Flour Mills increased output to four tons per hour. Bert Liddle was head miller at City Flour Mills from the early 1950s to 1976, when John Philipp took over. In 1952, Charlicks built nine silos to store 1,000 tons of flour a week.
Although export demand for flour slackened from the mid 1950s as developing countries built their own mills, the company sought new domestic outlets for its flour. Average annual net profits for the rest of the 1950s stayed solid at around £33,000. But Charlicks’ 1960s purchase of Jeffs Brothers mills in Gawler and Junee, New South Wales, signalled a decline in the sector.
Charlicks had kept adding businesses to its London Road site. These included Charlick Provender Company in 1946, with South Australia’s the first mill to produce stock and poultry feeds in pellet, granule, mash and cubes. Malcolm Charlick ran the company and its successors for many years. In 1959 Charlicks created Charlicks Papersacks, at Cleveland Terrace (later Agnes Street), Ottoway, soon producing 30 million multi-wall papersacks per year. The London Road plant, as Charlick Jute and Textiles, then specialised in making calico, hessian and jute bags.
With the mill not as profitable as previously, some assets like the Metal Trading Company and Charlick Charms were jettisoned. In 1961, Charlicks set up a fully-automated feed mill at Scotland Road, with Charlick’s Feeds, replacing Charlick Provender Company. In 1962, Charlick Plastics was started at London Road to produce polyethylene bags, piping and sheets. It soon moved to Deacon Avenue, Richmond. Charlicks also created of Charlick Lambert Insurance Brokers in 1968 with 51% ownership.
Seeking to maximise efficiency due to a shrinking flour market, in 1965, Charlicks also opened a completely remodelled and updated flour mill on London Road. Overseen by long-time employee Bill Watts, the mill was fully automated and one of the most efficient mills in Australia, producing up to six tons of flour per hour.
Founder William Charlick’s son C.S. (Claude) Charlick retired in 1966 after 43 outstanding years as managing director. Another change for the Charlicks family was the takeover the next year by local competitor, Producers Cold Storage Ltd, of the thriving South Australian Cold Stores Ltd, although the family remained the largest shareholder with 20.7%. This sale was a signal that William Charlick Ltd needed short-term funds.