G'day Sean50 and Mystyler
That's a great and considered story you tell.

For members, the History Record is HERE.

These are great mowers of high quality.

These are my thoughts:
Yep, this machine did undergo a restoration at some point,
and your dating seems fine to me.

The green colour is probably not correct. Morrisons
appear to have been a darker shade of green.

I have good reason to believe that this is an early Sydney Morrison.
The first of the NZ Morrisons had Villiers MK 1 engines, and this
strongly suggests that your low serial number is not a NZ mower.
[Your engine is the Villiers MK II 98cc Midget.]

The restoration does not hide that this machine did
have considerable use. I know this because of the condition
of the reel. Note that the reel spirals sit just above the
reel collars (or spiders). There is little 'meat' left on the blades
for future sharpening.

[Linked Image]

I think the fuel tank need reversing.
Most images I have show the fuel plunger/primer on the
LH side (the side the spark plug faces).

The original patina has been lost with the early restoration.
It is your choice whether to just clean it up. The restoration,
in itself, tells its own interesting story... A previous owner
thought a lot about this mower. I guess it was put out
to pasture (the base) to give it dignity in retirement, perhaps
after many years of reliable service and good memories.

I will have more to say about Sid Morrison in the next few weeks.

Please keep us informed as you proceed.
Members love these stories!

Cheers
------------------------
Jack