Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/501

 Hon. J. Martin ADELAIDE AND VICINITY 475 in the mining- history of England." Mr. Martin's model is treasured in the Polytechnic Hall at Falmouth. Eventually Mr. Martin severed his connection with the Treseaven Mine, and obtained employment in a woollen factory at Ponsuooth, where he had to engage in all sorts of work. But, we are told, " the greater the difficulties, the more determined was he to surmount them, and usually he was successful. This determination to overcome obstacles was the secret of much of his success in after-life." Working, however, in damp and draughty mills was not conducive to health, and Mr. Martin soon became subject to asthma. The rigorous climate of the old country accentuated the trouble, and he accordingly determined to seek the warmer and drier atmosphere of Australia. He chose the southern Province as his future home, and here he arrived in 1847, being then 26 years of age. He associated himself with mechanical affairs in the employ of Mr. Ridley, who, four years before, invented the now celebrated reaper or stripper. At Mr. Ridley's workshops at Hindmarsh Mr. Martin assisted in the manufacture of these machines. " The time came when he felt competent to start in business on his own behalf, and, after enquiry, he determined to open workshops at Gawler, then a quaint little village in the bush. On June 15, 1848, he set out for this pioneer centre in a dray, which also contained his wife, furniture, and a few tools, constituting all his belongings. Previous to his arrival he had secured a shop, the site of which is now a very small portion of the huge works of Martin & Co. Although there was then no opening for mechanical work, save in the manufacture of bullock-drays and the effecting of repairs to farming implements, Mr. Martin had an eye to the future, and foresaw that, as the Province developed, Gawler would become an important centre. His foresight has since been amply demonstrated. One of the first tasks which he set himself was " to cut down a tree and, from the timber, construct benches and a lathe." This lathe is kept in the present large establishment as a cherished relic of pioneerdom. " For the first little while I was here," says Mr. Martin, " it was a terrible job to get along. Sometimes, after paying my men only a portion of their wages, I had not 4d. left to take a letter out of the post office." The story of the beginning, and of the contrast with the present, is thus told by the Observer writer : — " The original site comprised only a few feet ; the area now occupied by the firm which has grown out of that humble beginning is 18 acres. Mr. Martin began operations with one man ; to-day about 700 are employed. He commenced by building bullock-drays ; as agriculture extended he took u[) the manufacture of reaping machines and other agricultural implements ; then mining machinery ; and now the establishment produces railway locomotives which are declared to be equal to any made in the world. At first the trade was strictly local : then the reputation of the firm — for Mr. Martin soon took unto himself partners — rapidly spread into other districts, and demands for agricultural implements flowed in from all parts of the Province. Later, orders were received from neighboring colonies, and to-day the business of Martin & Co. has ramifications in all parts of Australia, and extends even to South Africa and New Caledonia." This extract will convey an adequate idea of the enormous development of the business ; and it will be understood — especially when the circumstances of the Province are taken into consideration — that it could not be attained without skill, good management, energy, and discernment, coupled with indomitable industry. Better days arrived when, after the return of the gold-diggers from Victoria, the 1-' F 2