This is an extended and modified version of an article I posted on Vintage Mowers.net:
I do have an inconvenient truth and I want to set the record straight. It is a personal view, but one held after considerable research. I'm happy for open debate on it, as the issues are not simple. So, let's start:
First, watch this video and its context as presented below. The Film Australia story from 1951 tells the story of Cyril Thomas's invention:
It is a complimentary video to the one above I want to show you now. Presented by Ray Martin, Our Century, presents great Australian inventions. The Victa story comes early, but the whole video is worth a look. There are great close-ups of the Peach Tin and more . . .
Source:
In this video there is a challenge to the first video that I asked you to watch. The inconvenient truth is that I disagree with 'the Victa story' as presented by Ray. It does present the 'accepted view' though. I think the history books are wrong.
Let me take the issues head-on by making a few points:
[1] Ray says that what Mervyn Richardson did was, "improve the existing design of an engineering friend [Lawrence Hall]. Merv's genius was that he also knew how to sell it."
I think the last statement is very true: Merv was a marketing genius! The first statement, however, that Merv took the existing design from Hall is tenuous, or just wrong. If the statement means that Merv could turn a horizontal shaft petrol engine on its side to produce a vertical shaft petrol engine then point taken. But what else did he take?
He didn't take the rotary design from Hall. Sydney folk, as the rest of Australia had, had been accustomed to rotary action mowers for years in the form of domestic rotary electric mowers and, to a lesser extent, petrol powered rotary agricultural mowers [Hayter].
He didn't take the idea that mowers needed to be lightweight from Hall. Hall's mower was ridiculously heavy. The story is that two people were required to use it! The idea that rotaries should be cheaper and light was already being demonstrated by the electric rotaries.
The credit must go to the first electric rotary manufacturers. The penny dropped for Merv. After two years (or more) of trying to sell his 14" reel mower, Mervyn Richardson finally saw that there was no future in the reel mower, given the competition and Australia's grass conditions. He realized that a petrol powered rotary could turn grass into lawn for most applications of grass cutting. Reel mowers were now for 'fine lawns'.
He turned one of his horizontal shaft Villiers engines on its side, made a few mods., sat it on a primitive steel frame with billy cart wheels and BINGO! The Victa was born [Hallelujah chorus now]. It's what he did next - the vision - the marketing - that made Victa an icon. That's my point.
[2] My second point is the one I am emphatic about. This is where history is wrong. Ray says, "Cyril Thomas thought that he had the answer," ... "But it never took off."
Well, it did Ray! Research clearly shows that electrically powered rotaries were BIG business in the four years - 1948-1952 - leading up to the Victa petrol rotary in late '52. but prior to this iconic event, electric rotaries had sold in their tens of thousands and in all States of Australia.
Electric rotaries sold very well. One reason is that the manufacturers had established dealers and distribution networks. Many were radio manufacturers: Tecnico, Tasma, Mercury, Breville ... We had Grasshopper and the flying saucer British Ladybird.
Australians embraced this new electrical appliance on-mass, as they had embraced vacuum cleaners and floor polishers and a myriad of other electric appliances.
Merv's secret ingredients were: take the electric mowers' rotary action, lightweight frame and lower cost, add Lawrence Halls vertical shaft petrol engine, and have width of cut and a dash of MARKETING. The Victa Rotomo was born to an adoring public.
[3] As a light-hearted conclusion I note that Ray said, "Had history been different we might be turning grass into lawn with a Cyril". No Ray, following your logic, we'd still be turning grass into lawn with a Mervyn! The rest is history. -------------------------------------------- JACK
I think there is allot to be said in this, as for some reason, there does seem to be a push from some folk toward a line of thinking that says "Victa is an Aussie Icon, therefore to question the legend is to attack the company, and the country"
I myself, do not hold this View, I am a Victa guy, I love the mowers, I love the story, I love the history, but I don't see why that means I can't delve to find the full truth of the matter.
And the further I dig, the more I find that highlights the amount of legend that surounds Victa.
By the time the Victa "Peach Tin" was created in 1952, there is clear evidence that the following things had happned already:
-The rotary Mower Concept had been patented as early as 1928 -The Petrol Rotary Mower Had been patented as early as 1929 -Rotoscythe were advertising Petrol Rotary's internationally as early as 1937 -A Petrol Powered, Vertical Crank Shaft, Self Propelled, Rear Catcher Rotary Rotoscythe Mower had been photographed in an Australian Newspaper, as early as 1946. -Technico made Lightweight electric rotary mowers, in australia, as early as 1948.
The only possibility i can see for there being, from a technical standpoint, something "New" about the Peach tin is this:
It coupled the concepts of the vertical engined petrol rotary mower (Such as the rotoscythe) with the light weight and ease of use of the rotary electrics.
Aside from that, it all seems to come down to a genius for marketing!
Further, for some reason, a lot of people seem to have issue counting electric mowers in the history of the rotary mower. to an extent I get this, as a collector, I have no interest in them, they really just don't capture anything in me.
However, that does not remove them from the history of the rotary mower, they are part of the story, they are part of the development, and as indicated by the term "Rotary Mower" only two requirements need to be met to be a rotary mower, Rotary, and Mower!
So yes, this is important, very important, it helps show how mowers developed here in australia, and it helps show what was around when Victa started, giving us a clear view on what it was that sparked an Icon.
Cheers Ty
____________________________ Please do not PM me asking for support. Please post your questions in the appropriate forums, as the replies it may receive may help all members, not just the individual member.
Ty, I think you're the first person to see the significance of all this. Sometimes the staunchest critics are the best friends of these icons. But I don't think some folks are too happy when their cherished beliefs are just that.
It has annoyed me for so long that electric rotaries have all but been erased from the history books. I have come to have an interest in them. The obvious question I have asked myself is why?
On the Vintage Mowers site I introduced a thesis that explained this.
[1] The electric mower was more of an appliance than a garden tool. Because many of the electric mower manufacturers sprung post-War from radio manufacturers (Tecnico, Tasma, Breville, etc.) they were marketed and sold through electrical stores.
[2] The electric mower did not conform to Australian masculinity. By the 1950s cars were becoming more common, and the "man's job" was to repair anything mechanical in the household. But electrical?
Electricity was the wonder miracle and darling of the 'housewife'. But using electricity outdoors brought danger. On the other forum I wrote an extended post on electrocution. There were three main reasons: household electrical standards did not meet the demands of the new electric rotaries; the male often attempted repairs with no knowledge; and there was insufficient public education about the dangers of electricity.
Early Victa ads played on this: Petrol rotaries were 'safe', even for a child.
So ... My argument is that Richardson took from the electric rotaries the idea that: - the idea of the rotary - rotaries should be light - rotaries should be cheap
Richardson took from Hall: - rotaries can be petrol powered - the idea of a cheap round base
Richardson added: - a rotary should have a cut greater than an average reel mower (16"). - Marketing - sales & service; the many advantages of rotary design.
Ty, a question here is who invented the swing-back blade? It was used right from the Victa prototype.
The bottom line for me is that the Victa is a rightful AUS icon, but for the wrong reasons. It would be nice to correct the record.
All very interesting. ---------------------------------- JACK
Hi Jack, Ty and ODK members, This thread has definitely sparked some food for thought. I am so glad that someone has given the electric rotary its correct place in Australian lawn mower history. And Jack, I think your thesis was well put and a lot of thought behind it, as was your reply Ty.
From my own perspective, as a youngster growing up in Brisbane in the 1950's and 60's, I was always fascinated by the gentleman who arrived at our house in Clayfield, regularly each fortnight, to mow our lawns.
He was a jovial fellow, who arrived on an old WW2 WLA Harley Davidson motor cycle equipped with an open box side car, which contained a Model 17 Scott Bonnar 'Supercut' 18" cut machine (probably where I got my affection for all things Scott Bonnar) and proceeded to cut our lawns, whistling while he worked, and collecting all the clippings in the catcher and emptying into a cloth wool bail kept in the front of the sidecar. His Harley even had a reverse gear!
I don't recall the exact reason, (maybe the old fella retired) but came a time (probably as I was getting older) that my Dad reasoned that I could earn my pocket money mowing the lawns and that he would purchase a suitable machine.
I remember one morning when he was reading the 'Courier-Mail' newspaper, when he exclaimed that another 'unlucky' person had been electrocuted by running over the cord of his electric mower...and the words "bloody dangerous" coming from his lips.
About this time, one of Dad's best friends had purchased a Victa 18 ( I wish I knew the model) and had inadvertently placed his foot underneath it whilst it was running and ended up in what was then called as I remember (citation needed) the 'Victa Ward' at the Royal Brisbane General Hospital having lost 2 toes! My Dad's exclamation on hearing the news, "bloody dangerous!
About a fortnight later, a delivery truck arrives and delivers a large box containing a brand new 'Pace' rotary, powered by a Villiers 7F 'Torque-Master' engine with its little sight glass and fuel tap, to which I was to be firmly attached every Saturday morning for what seemed forever, and all for 2 bob!
He was well aware that I was most in favour of him purchasing a Victa, as most of my school friends Dad's owned one. But, I must admit it was a reliable machine, and did a reasonable job of mowing the lawn, but nowhere like the finish of the old 'Supercut' Scotty.
Please do not PM me asking for support. Please post your questions in the appropriate forums, as the replies it may receive may help all members, not just the individual member. Kindest Regards, Darryl
That is such an interesting story. I have often thought that what animates anyone's interest in gardening machinery is not the simple 'show' of photographs but the 'tell' of stories.
The Supercut is, arguably, the best Australian domestic reel mower ever made. What I find poignant is your recollection of the electrocution. That sort of helps my thesis about the 'forgetting' of the electric rotaries. The 'Victa Ward' story gives a new and real insight to the 'toe cutter' name and legend.
I loved the conclusion: no matter how good the 7f powered Pace was, it could never be a replacement for the ol' Supercut and the 'jovial fellow'. The smell of freshly cut grass on a sunny Queensland afternoon . . .
What a great recollection of childhood! ------------------------------------------------- JACK
The smell of freshly cut grass on a sunny Queensland afternoon . . .
Ohhh Yeah!! I can almost smell it now!
Please do not PM me asking for support. Please post your questions in the appropriate forums, as the replies it may receive may help all members, not just the individual member. Kindest Regards, Darryl
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