PART TWO - Update for 2016
It is funny how some stories unravel. We now have corroborated evidence that the
company that made Rovers did, indeed, start with a model named Wizard.

That was revealed in a telling 2015 article by Power Equipment Australia Magazine
on Greenfield Products' founder Theo Reinhold, who worked in some senior capacity
for what became Rover Mowers. The relevant extract is shown below:-

[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]

For this discussion I would like to comment upon the statement, made by Theo;
that, ... it transpired that another business had prior claim to that name ...

This was the impetus for finding a new name for the lawnmower products made by
the Anderson family's GWA group. Theo lays claim that 'Rover' was his concoction.

I do not dispute that. I have found evidence, though, of the 'other company'.
I think it was the American Wizard:-

[Linked Image]
Source: c1950s, unattributed.

I suspect that Wizard was not a registered trade-name in Australia for a lawnmower -
but that name would have stifled any attempt of having export markets. But,
significantly, it just was not an original name for a lawnmower! 'Rover' was
always a clever name for a lawnmower - with connotations of reliability and
dependability - and it wasn't a car! Rover Mowers was born.

The Rest is history.
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Jack