A. M. Bickford and Sons was one of the first manufacturing chemists in South Australia and until 1930 one of the State's most significant family owned companies. In 1930, they amalgamated with half a dozen other similar Australian companies to form "Drug Houses of Australia" (DHA), which very successfully continued to produce the "A. M. Bickford and Sons" products: the "drugs" and "chemicals" under the DHA brand; the cordials and soft drinks under the "A. M. Bickford and Sons" brand.