OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Machine Histories THE FIRST MOTOR MOWER in AUSTRALIA - c1908

Hello ODK members,

This post discusses the context of the power mower.
This series of posts discusses the first power mowers in Australia.
It is provisional research in that key facts are still not known.

The Known facts are:-
[1] The Royal Sydney Golf Club is said to be "the pioneer patron of the petrol mower".
[2] The arrival date would be some time prior to 1908.
[3] The Adelaide City Council were the first to use a power mower in October, 1908.

CONTEXT:
The context is that it is generally accepted that Ransomes made the first petrol
powered lawnmower in 1902. These were behemoth machines of massive proportions.

Why were they so large? I think the answer to that lies in the historical development
of the lawnmower and the historical development of the internal combustion engine.

Budding's patent mower of 1830 and Ransomes production of it in 1832 produced a smallish
machine of about 16 inches. But by the mid 19th Century, Shanks had patented larger machines
utilising animal power - donkeys, ponies, and horses. These could be 40" plus in width.

With the invention of the petrol powered internal combustion engine it was obvious that
animal horse power would be replaced by mechanical h.p.

The limiting factor in all this was engine size. The automobile had demanded smaller engines
but not small engines. It was obvious that the first petrol mowers would be big, but rapid
engine development would result in the 'lightweight' mowers of the 1920s.

To give members an idea of the first power mowers to arrive in Australia, I reproduce the
famous ride-on machine in use at the Cadbury's Sporting Grounds, and a factory photo
of a Ransomes pedestrian machine dated to about the same time.

The Adelaide City Council Machine

Current research says that the first motor mower to be used by a public body
was imported in 1908. The decision by Adelaide City Council to purchase a power mower
was made in early May of 1908. This was reported in the two major Adelaide papers,
the Advertiser and the Register:-



This Ransomes water-cooled machine probably arrived in September of 1908.
The machine's first trial was near the Rotunda at Elder Park on Friday, 2 October.
The machine had a 30 inch cut and it was a pedestrian (walk-behind) machine.

Here is the transcript of the 1908 article I found:

The advance of the motor has assumed another phase in its entry into the lawn- mowing business. The Adelaide City Council has about 70 acres of lawns, which have to be cut at frequent intervals during the spring and summer months, and their constantly increasing extent� no less than 18 acres has been added in the last couple of years�has necessitated attention to the most up-to-date machinery for keeping them in order. Negotiations having been opened with Messrs. James Hill & Sons, a motor lawnmower has been introduced, and, in the presence of a member of the City Council, a trial was carried out under the supervision of Mr. H. F. Nicholls, in the vicinity of the Rotunda at Elder Park on Friday. The Adelaide Council is the first public body in Australia to adopt the new power for this purpose, and the machine is said to represent the second one landed in the Commonwealth�the Royal Sydney Golf Club having been the pioneer patron of the petrol mower. The Adelaide mower, which cost �156 delivered, is by Messrs. Ransome, Sims, & Jeffries, of Ipswich, England. It has a 30-in cut, and is driven by 6/8 h.p. motor. The engine, which is water cooled, is controlled by the driver, who walks in the wake of the machine and direct its course much in the same manner as the old-fashioned plough. It can be worked at any rate up to eight miles an hour�provided the man can maintain the pace�but it is intended to be run at a walking pace. The motor made a clear sweep of the well-grown parts of the lawn, and every- one was impressed with the tho- roughness of its work. The mower is provided with a receptacle to gather up the spoil, from which the driver can deposit it in heaps by the side of the trail at will. It was calculated that the mower should be capable of cutting the Rotunda lawns in two to 2� days, a task which occupied a horsemower five days. The motor, attended by one man, should at least be able to do the work of two men, two horses, and two mowers.






All very historical.
---------------------------------------
JACK

The Royal Sydney Golf Club Machine

A second article (below) again makes reference to the first privately-owned motor mower in Australia,
a machine belonging to the Royal Sydney Golf Club.

The import date of that machine is not known to me -
[that would be the date of the first power mower in Australia].

I love the way this 1908 article makes reference to the future of lawn mowing.
The new Ransomes was classified by the Council as a 'two-horse' mower.
The reference to three-horse mowers must be understood in context. For one thing, there were
no gang mowers thought of at that time. The reference would be to agricultural sickle bar mowers
requiring three horses, not reel mowers. I'll now let the article speak for itself:

MOTOR LAWN MOWER.
Considerable interest was manifested in the trial at the Rotunda on Friday afternoon of the 6.5-h.p. lawn mower imported by Messrs. J. Hill & Sons to the order of the Adelaide Corporation. The mayor (Mr. Frank Johnson), the town clerk (Mr T. G. Ellery), members of the council, and many citizens witnessed the trial, and were highly pleased with the results. The machine, which is the first of the kind to be purchased by a municipal body in Australia, was manufactured by Messrs. Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies, of Ipswich.

The City Council have laid out about 18 acres of park lands in lawns during the past two years, thereby increasing the aggregate area under grass within the council's boundaries to approximately 70 acres. Members had inspected the first privately-owned motor lawn mower in Australia, the property of the Royal Golf Club, Sydney, and then it was decided by the council to purchase one of the most up-to-date machines in the market. The mower in question was tried on the long sward at the Rotunda, and proved thoroughly effective. The mower, which is water cooled, cost �156 landed in Adelaide, and is expected to do as much work as a two-horse mower. This means economy, but men will not be thrown out of employment, for the three horse-mowers and other mowers at present in use will still be needed. However, it is probable that as time passes, if the new order of things bears out present promises, the old hand and horse impelled machines will, as far as possible, be replaced by motor-driven mowers. The Rotunda plots, which, with a horse-mower could be cut in five days, will now, it is expected, be dealt with in from two to three days, and there is a possibility that after the first cut the work can be completed in less than two days.

The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 � 1931)
Saturday 3 October 1908, page 13



All very interesting.
-----------------------------------
JACK

THE SYDNEY MACHINES c1912



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The rest is history.
--------------------------------
JACK.