William Knox Simms was born in England in 1829 and arrived in South Australia with his family in 1845. By the age of 21, he had already proven himself a capable entrepreneur, establishing a ginger beer brewing business on Rundle Street, which he successfully sold in 1851. The proceeds from that venture enabled him to enter into partnership with William Knox Simms, Samuel W. Humble, James Chambers, and James Hayter, and together, in 1851, they purchased the Pirie Street Brewery from its founder, James Walsh. The partnership, however, was short-lived, Hayter departed in 1855 and was declared insolvent by 1859. In 1856, Simms joined Henry Noltenius in purchasing the Halifax Street Brewery from W.H. Clark. Clark soon established a new brewery on Hindley Street, but his fortunes declined, and he was insolvent by 1860. Simms, on the other hand, continued to prosper. In 1861, he took over the West End Brewery, located off Hindley Street near West Terrace, and rapidly built it into one of the colony’s most successful brewing businesses. From 1866 to 1879, he was in partnership with Edgar Chapman, under whom the brewery flourished. In 1874, Simms and Chapman sent their senior employee Charles Mallen to New South Wales to establish what became the Adelaide Brewery in Waverley, Sydney, in partnership with Hampton Carroll Gleeson. Simms’s business interests continued to expand, and by 1888, the West End Brewery had been taken over by the South Australian Brewing and Malting Company, which later merged with Edwin Smith’s Kent Town Brewery. The iconic Kent Town malt towers still stand today as a reminder of that era. Simms remained a director of the South Australian Brewing Company until his death. Though his role was largely supervisory, his dividends were immense, a testament to his business acumen and foresight. Public Life and Politics Simms also enjoyed a long and respected public career. Elected to the Adelaide City Council in 1867 as the representative for Gawler Ward, he quickly became known for his fairness and pragmatism. The following year, in 1868, he was elected to the House of Assembly for West Adelaide, alongside H.R. Fuller. Over the next two decades, Simms served multiple parliamentary terms. He represented West Adelaide intermittently between 1868 and 1881, working alongside colleagues such as Judah Moss Solomon, Thomas Johnson, Hugh Fraser, and C.C. Kingston. In 1884, he was elected to the Legislative Council for the Central District, defeating Philip Santo in the colony’s first election under the new Constitution Act, which had expanded the Council and divided it into regional electorates. Though never seeking Cabinet office or personal reward, Simms was well regarded by both his peers and the public. His reputation was that of a steady, honest representative who avoided partisanship and worked diligently for the good of the colony. He resigned from the Council in 1891, closing a political career marked by integrity and public confidence. Horse Racing and the S.A.J.C. Beyond brewing and politics, Simms was deeply involved in horse racing. Though not a racehorse owner himself, he was a keen race-goer and a strong supporter of the Totalizator Bill, which he helped guide to its second reading. He attended the pivotal 1861 meeting at the John Bull Hotel, where local enthusiasts sought to place horse racing on a more organized footing. From that meeting emerged the Second South Australian Jockey Club (S.A.J.C.), with Simms serving on its first committee alongside E.M. Bagot, P.B. Coglin, G. Bennett, and W. Blackler. Simms remained actively involved in racing administration for many years. In 1864, he helped introduce fixed-sum prizes in place of traditional sweepstakes, setting the Adelaide Cup prize at £500, with an additional 50 sovereigns as entry stakes. When the S.A.J.C. faced financial difficulties in 1866, Simms personally guaranteed its overdraft at the National Bank. He was appointed Chairman of the Jockey Club in 1867, and later helped organize the 1869 Royal Race Meeting on the Old Course in honour of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh’s visit to Adelaide. Nearly twenty years later, he again played a key role in the reformation of the S.A.J.C. at a meeting held in September 1888. Later Life and Legacy William Knox Simms passed away on Christmas Day, 1898, leaving an estate valued at £345,000, equivalent to around $60 million in 2024. His fortune, built through skill, vision, and integrity, was bequeathed to his sons. Simms’s contributions to South Australia’s brewing industry, public life, and sporting culture were immense. From humble beginnings as a ginger beer maker on Rundle Street, he rose to become one of the colony’s most influential brewers and public figures, a man whose legacy endures in the very foundations of South Australian industry and community life. c1880 State Library South Australia - B 47090/37		William Knox Simms Born - 1829 Arrived in South Australia - December 1845 Died - December 25th 1898 Wife - Jane Faulkner
William Knox Simms out the front of the West End Brewery c1888 Mr Simms is the man in the Top Hat in the centre State Library South Australia - B 70989 Click here for a high resolution image Companies William Knox Simms was involved with Pirie Street Brewery 1851 1854 Pirie Street Brewery 1854 1855 Pirie Street Brewery 1855 1855 Halifax Street Brewery 1856 1858 Halifax Street Brewery 1858 1860 West End Brewery 1860 1862 West End Brewery 1862 1866 West End Brewery 1866 1875 West End Brewery 1875 1888