Francis Joseph Botting was a prominent auctioneer, businessman, and early settler whose work helped shape the commercial foundations of colonial South Australia. Born in London in 1819, he arrived in the colony in March 1839 aboard the Buckinghamshire, only three years after European settlement had begun. Trained as a builder, Botting soon put his skills to use in the young city of Adelaide. In partnership with his brother he helped construct several of its first significant buildings, including the Blenheim Hotel—previously used as the Bank of Australasia and earlier as a merchant’s office and warehouse. Botting later worked at Port Adelaide for the South Australian Company under architect Mr Prescott, where he supervised the construction of the first wharf and associated buildings at the Port. When the colony experienced a period of financial depression, he joined his brothers on the islands of Spencer Gulf, living there for two years before returning to Adelaide in 1846. In the following decade Botting shifted from building to commerce. He established himself as an auctioneer in partnership with W. Townsend, later joining the firm Samson, Wicksteed & Co. The enterprise eventually traded under the name Wicksteed, Botting & Townsend, before evolving into the well-known firm F. J. Botting & Co. His reputation for integrity and business acumen led to appointment as Government Auctioneer and Valuer, in which capacity he assisted in the acquisition of important railway lands, including portions of the Port Augusta, Government Gums, Bordertown, Goolwa, and Gladstone lines. Botting also contributed to the colony’s financial development. He served as a director of Adelaide’s first building society, the Adelaide and Suburban, which later became the Permanent Equitable Building Society. His business interests broadened further into brewing, and until his death he was proprietor of the Hindmarsh Brewery, conducted under the longstanding name of Haussen & Co. Known for steady industry and long public service, Francis Joseph Botting played a substantial role in Adelaide’s early building, commercial, and brewing enterprises, leaving a legacy closely tied to the growth of South Australia in the nineteenth century.

Breweries involved with Francis Joseph Botting
Brewery		Started	Ended
	Globe Hotel	1882	1882
	Haussen & Co	1893	1894
	Haussen & Co	1894	1906