Notable South Australians/William Robert Smith Cooke

by George E. Loyau

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William Robert Smith Cooke,

ONE of the earliest of South Australian settlers, and wellknown amongst surviving old colonists as the head of the firm of August Cooke & Co., Merchants, of Adelaide. He was a man of great perseverance and energy, and these qualities were most prominently shown during the great depression of 1843, when he, in common with others in commercial pursuits, suffered losses. He was afterwards connected with the brewing interests, and next came to the front as a wheat speculator and miller. He built the Victoria Mill in Grenfell-street, now a part of Messrs. Milne & Co.'s wine and spirit store; and died in the year 1852.