1910-1920
This decade was the crowning glory of Robert Barr Smith.
After years of poor seasons, fortunes once again turned as production and markets flourished and the company extended its push into Western Australia.
The linking of its wool operations in the two states set the scene for domination of the trade for the next 40 years.
Even though he was now in his eighties, Barr Smith also found the time to launch Elders Trustee and Executor Limited and then expand the still vital resources interests by forming Elders Metal and Mercantile in Melbourne.
Barr Smith died in 1915 leaving an estate worth more than $250 million in today’s values, much of it endowing charities and Adelaide University.
Read more about this topic: Elders Limited