OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Model Histories SCOTT BONNAR Models MODEL 19 - History Record - c1953

Hello ODK History Lovers

The Scott Bonnar Company would use the great (and clever) name Bonmow to describe a
new range of post-war reel mowers, starting with the Model 19 Bonmow 14"; and the later
Model 33 Bonmow 16" machines.

This post discusses the first Bonmow, the Model 19 14" of late 1953. It would stay in
production until its replacement, the Model 40, would arrive in about 1960. The Model 19 was
made in 2-stroke, 4-stroke and mains electric power unit variants.

The Model 19 was a flawed machine. Built to a high standard, its design and features were
lacking. However, this post argues that the Scott Bonnar Company very much knew what they
were doing - or wanted to do - with this lawnmower. It is for this reason that we can
forgive its shortcomings and admire this little machine as an important piece of Australian
vintage mower history.

This is probably the first Scott Bonnar intended for high volume sales that had to meet a
definite and strict bottom line in terms of production costs and selling price. You see,
Scott Bonnar, for the first time, was engaging with a new target market and customer: the
average family with an average income. Welcome to the 1950s!


Bonmow 14" with Villiers 3G (c1956)

TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART TWO - CONTEXT

Scott Bonnar, from the earliest days, had made residential lawnmowers, but the post-war
market added a new - and significant - layer of opportunity for the company. Post war
prosperity meant that, for the first time, a new class of Scott Bonnar owner was made
possible ... the working class!.

Increasing average incomes meant that John and Jane Doe could enter the power mower market
for the first time. They could trade in their old "pushie"; and trade-in the century-old drudgery
of mowing the lawn. From now on it would be leisure - barbeques, beehives and Bonmows!
Welcome to the 1950s!

In a rare print advertisement from April of 1954 (shortly after the release), Scott Bonnar
revealed their intentions. Note the beautiful phrase, "It's the people's mower at the
people's price":-




Priced between the Australian-made powered sidewheels and the reel/roller mowers
arriving from England, the magic price was 70/16/- -the lowest prices self-propelled
power mower in Australia". It was a 'sensation', or so the copy said:-



TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART THREE - The 2G Bonmows

The earlies reference to the Model 19 was in a news report from September of 1953 where
Chairman Mr A.L. Slade said at the company's Annual Meeting that, "a new model power
lawnmower had been developed and this would soon be placed on the market":-



Thus, the little Bonmow was released for the 1953-54 lawnmower season. In this 1955
advertisement (below) note that the original petrol Bonmow was powered by the 70cc
Villiers Mark 2G 2-stroke - meaning that it was air-cooled but without cowling or fan
assistance. The original colour was "Cobalt Blue", with red reel and catcher insides.
Note how the engine is set far to the left side with the carburettor sitting proud of
the LH sideframe. Curiously, there is no chain guard in this illustration.



These 2G Bonmows are not common today. Here is Member IanOz's unrestored machine.
Note the intact chain guard (drive chain is missing).




Because there was no primary clutch, the engine was started under the load of
turning a reel, two chains, and the inboard "hair-trigger" landroll clutch.
Reel bearing housings were outboard of the side frames. With the extreme engine
offset, this would not have been a particularly well-balanced machine.



TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART FOUR - The 3G Bonmows

The single biggest upgrade to the Bonmow occurred with the introduction of fan cooling
to the little Villiers engine in 1956. This would be the Villiers 70cc Mark 3G.

The improvements were widely advertised:-



MUSEUM of VICTORIA Bonmow Leaflet:
The M of V holds a leaflet or flyer in its collection.
This was a simple, one-sided print flyer for the upgraded Bonmow.



I have one of these flyers and make it available below.
See Gallery below...

FURTHER CHANGES
It would appear that further improvements were made for the 1957-58 lawnmower season.
The first was the repositioning of the carburettor (via a long intake manifold) to the
rear of the engine. At this time a snorkel air intake was fitted. Second, a Villiers
recoil starter was fitted to the engine, replacing the outdated lanyard start.



TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART FOUR - The Electric Bonmows

Scott Bonnar, from the very start, was an electric lawnmower manufacturer.
They believed that, for most applications, electricity would be the best power source.
Clearly that view changed as public authorities and large area sporting bodies became
important customers.

Post war, it would be petrol power that would gain supremacy and have the largest market
share. As such, Bonmows were offered right from late 1953 with petrol and electric power
plants. The Bonmow Electric was identical to the Petrol machine in all other aspects.




These machines are not common today at all.
Here are some good photographs from member Chasekell of his little electric:-

PART FIVE - The Four Strokes

These must be the rarest of all the Model 19 Bonmows - the four-strokes.
A 4-stroke version was offered from the 1957-58 lawn mowing season. These were powered
by a Villiers Mk10 engine. I have found little advertising for these machines; probably
because they were significantly dearer than their 2-stroke and electric counterparts.




Here are some photos of an original Model 19 Bonmow 4 stroke.
Note the extra engine base plate, used to accommodate the longer oil sump. The machine
also appears to have a steel front roller with bearings.

Photographs kindly supplied by member Yellow.




TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART SIX - The Manual

A thank you to Member Yellow who kindly scanned his copy of the manual
that came with his 4-stroke (see Photo Record above).

PART SEVEN – Model 19 Brochure

I was lucky enough to find a brochure for a Bonmow that I
date to 1956-57 – when the Model 19 acquired the Villiers
3G cowled engine, but before the recoil starter was fitted
in the following season.

The brochure is in average-to-good condition. As always,
I make it available to members for viewing or as a quality download.

PART EIGHT - Leaflet c1958

I said in PART 4 above that the last changes to the Model 19 occurred in
about 1958. These were the addition of a recoil starter and snorkel air cleaner.

I have recently located a flyer for these changes. In mint condition, it would have
been a one-sided throw-away leaflet produced at a cheap cost. This one survives!

I love the " 'yo-yo' principle" ...

PART NINE - SIGNIFICANCE & ASSESSMENT

Scott Bonnar described the Model 19 Bonmow as "The People's Mower". I have argued here
that the little Bonmow was flawed - because this required comprise: it had to be offered
at "the people's price".

The Model 19 was offered at a price between the popular powered sidewheels (that were
largely not self-propelled), and the imported (and local) reel/roller self-propelled machines.

On the plus side of the ledger, the Bonmows were manufactured to a high standard of
workmanship and materials. This was a machine built to last. The main feature (in my view)
was the new "hair-trigger" variable speed clutch. This feature would be carried over to all
subsequent residential machines (Model 33s, 40s & 45s).

On the minus side of the ledger, the biggest drawback was the loss of a primary clutch
for starting the machine (less significant for electrics). Other minuses include exposed
transmission chains (no chain case), and a single piece rear roller (no differential).
The radically offset engine probably meant this was not a well-balanced machine.



Nonetheless, this is a significant Australian post-war power mower made by a iconic
Australian lawnmower company. When the Bonmow was introduced in 1953 Scott Bonnar
would have been well-aware of the rotary lawnmower - they were buzzing around Adelaide
backyards since 1948. However, by 1953, they would have not had an inkling of the
"rotary revolution" that was to ensue in the coming years.

The company would come to learn that they could not please all the people all the time.

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

SCOTT BONNAR MODELS

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