knox and downs ltd. took over federal stores, wilcannia, in 1912. the company lost 500 tons of supplies valued at between £3000 and £4000 in a fire on barges "nonpareil" and "cobar" that same year, which may have prompted them to purchase steamer "alfred" and barge "uranus". they were implicated, by failure to maintain "alfred" properly, in the death of crewman charles james thorn in 1917 they opened a store at menindee in 1920.