T. J. Richards

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T. J. Richards was Tobias John Martin Richards (3 February 1850 – 28 July 1939), a South Australian coachbuilder who founded a company that would eventually become Chrysler Australia.

Early life
Richards was the eldest of 15 children born to John Martin Richards and Catherine Reed. His mother’s family came from Cornwall. He grew up in Kapunda, South Australia. When his father drowned in a dam, Richards was 17 and acted as a witness at the inquest.

Career beginnings
Richards first worked for Adamson Brothers, a farm machinery maker in Kapunda. He tried several trades, including cordial manufacturing in Gawler, and worked as a blacksmith in Unley around 1881. He learned coachbuilding from Ludwig Maraun in Hindmarsh Square and Pirie Street, which led him to open a small coachbuilding shop on Pulteney Street in 1885 with J. W. Fisher (their partnership ended in 1886).

He showed his work at the Adelaide Show in 1887 and later moved to West Mitcham, near the railway. By 1893 he exhibited a range of vehicles at the Adelaide Show, and by 1896 his products were shown at country shows across South Australia. In 1900 he had premises on Hindmarsh Square and, by 1905, displayed about 35 designs, including popular sulkies like the “King of the Road.”

Richards was respected as a coachbuilding expert. He served as a judge at Sydney Royal Shows and was elected president of the Coachbuilders’ and Wheelwrights’ Society in 1908. He was also involved with the Chamber of Manufactures and other associations. He retired from the business in 1911, and the company became T. J. Richards & Sons, adding motor body building to its range.

Subsequent company history
From 1911, the Hindmarsh Square works marketed itself as “King of the Road Works.” In 1914 the firm started selling Dixi, Palmer-Moore, Swift, and motorcycle brands while operating from premises on Pulteney Street. In 1915 they gained exclusive agency for Studebaker cars. T. J. Richards & Sons was founded in 1916 and expanded with a new workshop and showroom in Pirie Street in 1917. A few years later the company sold the Hindmarsh Square/Pirie Street complex and moved to a large factory at Keswick, making King of the Road bodies for brands like Dodge and Hudson Terraplane. A second factory opened at Mile End in 1928, and in 1936 Chrysler Dodge Distributors Limited bought a stake, gaining control in 1937. The business was renamed Richards Industries Limited in 1941, then Chrysler Dodge Distributors (Holdings) Pty Ltd in 1946. In 1951 Chrysler Corporation bought a large stake and the enterprise became Chrysler Australia.

Family and personal life
Richards married Matilda Emily Freeman on 31 March 1875. Their children included Herbert Clarence (H. C.) Richards, who later became Chairman of Directors, Mayor of Unley, and a member of Parliament; Henry Ernest (H. E.) Richards, who died in a motorcycle accident in 1915; Cecil Graham (C. G.) Richards; Claude Alfred Victor (C. A.) Richards; and several others. The family home was Mundaring, Lower Mitcham, then 93 Cambridge Terrace, Malvern, South Australia, where Richards died. He was known as a keen gardener and enjoyed croquet and lawn bowls.