Henry Frederick “Harry” Sarah founded HF Sarah & Sons in 1961.
Harry was born in Melbourne in 1910 and as a young man worked for Lauritz Hansen and Otto Yuncken – Hansen Yuncken.
In 1939 Harry relocated his young family to Adelaide to manage the construction of the Bank of New South Wales building on the corner of North Terrace and King William streets, now the location of the iconic 2KW rooftop bar and restaurant.
Harry then laid down solid foundations, establishing the Hansen Yuncken business in the South Australian market for the next 20 years and made Adelaide home.
In 1961 Harry established H.F. Sarah & Sons, a lifelong ambition to build for himself (now Sarah Constructions). The first contract awarded was to build Thomas Hardy & Sons a new Tintara House Office Building and Champagne Cellars at Mile End.
Harry was later joined by his two sons Don and Neil, who were now aged 25 and 22. The business flourished over the ensuing 3 decades, spawning many successful business ventures including Hindmarsh Plumbing and Sarah Homes established in the early 1970’s.
By the mid-late 1970s, H.F. Sarah & Sons had two FAVCO cranes on the Adelaide skyline, employed carpenters, plumbers, labourers, bricklayers, crane drivers and riggers, and owned and operated an extensive fleet of plant and commercial vehicles. The company operated a successful branch of the business on the west coast from offices in Port Lincoln for over 15 years.
In the late 1990’s Don and Neil were succeeded by their respective sons James and Tim who continued to develop and expand the business throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Now 60 years down the track, Sarah is a progressive, highly successful business employing over 200 people and creating a legacy of building and services infrastructure in South Australia.