PART TWO - Who Made the Bunyip?The
Bunyip followed a conventional design suited to Australian conditions -
5 blade reel, 9inch driving wheels and, most importantly, it had ball bearings.
This was not a 'cheapie', but a quality hand mower, designed for long life.
The obvious question that must be addressed is: who made it?
I cannot overestimate the role
Nock & Kirby played in our vintage mower history.
Commencing business in
1871 (at Sydney's Circular Quay), they became one of
Sydney's premier stores, moving to their famous George Street premises in the
1930s. They also had branch stores in Wollongong, Bankstown and Parramatta. This
was a catalogue store that sold goods far and wide.
Nock & Kirby did own factories for making a few of their goods, but most goods
were procured locally or from around the world. In this regard, I have no doubt
that the Bunyip was made by an outside maker, but who?
Nock & Kirby had an extensive
Garden Department and they sold a huge variety of
lawnmowers - powered and manual; large and small - from local manufacturers or
from overseas: the United States, the United Kingdom, or from wherever!
The vital clues are to be found in the period and the advertising details.
By the mid-1930s Australia had a not insignificant
lawnmower manufacturing
industry, particularly for the domestic hand mowers that the majority of
Australians bought. So the initial
assumption was that the Bunyip was of
Australian make.
I ruled out North American manufacture with the Clue 'Sheffield steel'
(see 1936 ad.). The Bunyip was either of British or Australian make. By the
late 1930s reference to Sheffield steel was dropped in Bunyip ads in favour of
'tested steel'. This pointed to one obvious manufacturer.
TO BE CONTINUED ...