OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Model Histories AUSTRALIAN Rotary Models ALEX GRAHAME - The Rotaries - c1956

PART FOUR - 21 INCH ROTARY - c1957

The 21" mower was an up-scaled version of the 18", having a skirted steel base fitted with
6 inch semi-pneumatic front wheel and 8 inch rears. Engine protection was provided for by
two swing-back cutting blades. Released in late 1957, this would be one of the first lawnmowers
to use the - also newly released - Villiers, governed, vertical shaft engine.

The machine was branded as the 'Automower', taking advantage of the throttle-control-less
feature of the new Villiers Torque Master Mk. 7F automatically governed engine, arguably the
first mechanically governed 2-stroke lawnmower engine on the Australian market. Priced at £63,
this was not a cheap lawnmower.

Height adjustment remained as a 4-point, but adjustment could now be done on each wheel
without tools via 'finger-tip'. There were now height adjustable and folding handles, a
necessary feature by this time.

Of particular note in this late 1957 advertisement is the Company's boast of '68' -
Lawnmower Specialists for 68 years. Established 1890". That may well make Alex Grahame the
longest, continuous running, privately-owned, Australian lawnmower company.
A well-deserved boast!




There is a curious thing in this late 1958 advertisement. The Automower shrunk to 20 inches!
I cannot explain this beyond the possibility that the mower was, in fact, closer to a 20" cut
than a 21" cut. In any case, most references I have found label the machine as 21 inches.

Also note the second address: the company had another showroom at 427-433 Victoria Road,
Gladesville - servicing customers on the northern side of the Harbour and covering the
Sydney Metropolitan area. In the 1957 advertisement (above), the Company boasted that this
mower was "Available from Accredited Representatives throughout Australia". No such boast
appears in later ads; suggesting an expanded or Australia-wide network never eventuated.
Given the available evidence, I think that's right.




For the record, there is some evidence that the 21 Inch machine may have also been
offered with J.A.P. engines in the very early 1960s. Here is an extract from
a Repco Catalogue from the late 1960s.



TO BE CONTINUED ...