Hello
ODK History Lovers
There is nothing straight forward in researching Australian vintage lawnmower
history. I have made good progress in the last few years, such that I have become
more confident in answering important "who was our first?" questions. This post
discusses an early - and problematic - Australian lawnmower manufacturer.
We have very little information on
Grant and Vickery, a lawnmower manufacturer from
the pioneering era of Australian-made lawnmower manufacturers.
Robert Grant and
Stanley Vickery formed some sort of association in about
1922, and were primarily
involved in lawnmower and marine products.
The factory was located at
Barnstaple Road, Fivedocks, Sydney (between Lamrock and
Ingham Avenues), and they remained there, best guess, until the mid-1950s when the
company disappears.
They manufactured both petrol-powered reel mowers and commercial gang mowers from
about
1931 to the
mid-1950s. Models are discussed in the
Model Histories Forum (see
Related Links).
The unresolved issue for me is that there is evidence that they were manufacturing
lawnmowers prior to this - in the 1920s, making them one of the earliest local
manufacturers.
TO BE CONTINUED ...