Well that is some interesting information, dating the governor back to the 20�s certainly pre dates any of Victa�s attempts, and further, it again changes the way we view Victa.
I�m beginning to get a picture of Mervyn as a very innovative thinker, but not necessarily an inventor, and as such, I�m getting the impression that during it�s most innovative years, Victa, as a company, was similar.
Looking at the �Peach Tin� it�s easy to se why in hindsight, some may question why on earth it sparked something so big, at the time, over in America, we can see the rotary had advanced to the point of Briggs and Stratton having already started making 4-stroke engines for the application in 1950, In England, Rotary mowers were already self propelled, with rear catchers. Worldwide there are pre 1950 examples of Lightweight and manageable electric rotary�s, and dating back to the 20�s we see petrol rotary concepts, and governed engines.
So from what I can see, in 1952, Mervyn Victor Richardson did not really invent anything, what he did was take a number of convenient elements from other designs, and combine them selectively to create a popular product.
It is likely that further to this, some of these advancements and patents were very unknown here, idea�s were not readily researchable, however, it is easy to see that it had all been done before in one way or another.
Now I certainly am not trying to tarnish Victa or Mervyn, I just wish to get a clear understanding of the development of the rotary mower.
But overall, I feel that in 1952, what Merv did, was create a Petrol Rotary Mower that was cheaper, lighter and easier to use than had previously been seen in Australia, and in doing so, created a legend.
I wouldn�t mind finding out two more things at this point, 1) when was the first governed 2 stroke, and 2) what advancements and changes did we see during the 30�s & early 40�s (particularly rotoscythe) as there seems to be little discussed so far between the patents of the late 20�s and the adverts of the late 40�s.
