OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Model Histories AUSTRALIAN Rotary Models WIZARD - The "Pre-Rover" - c1956

Hello ODK History Lovers

When I was researching another mower I came across an entry from the authoritative
Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. The entry gave some background to the founding of Rover Mowers.

The entry says that the Anderson Family started making lawnmowers at Northgate, Brisbane, in
1956, but the first lawnmower was named Wizard.


Reference: http://from.ph/466624

I recently found one record for a Wizard lawnmower and, I believe, this is significant.
It dates from early 1956 and is an advertisement for the Wizard by the company Advance
Home Furnishers of St. Marys, Sydney (who later, incidentally, became Villager agents).



It has an 18" cut and has a Villiers engine. The handle is in the style of the first Rovers,
but the fuel tank on the handle is Victa-like. It has 4-point height adjustment (on each wheel),
and the base appears to be alloy with a thin skirt.

I don't know when machines started to carry the Rover name, but it could have been as
early as late 1957, when the Villiers 7F was released (and Rover used).

CONCLUSION
The Powerhouse's information was supplied to them, in part, by Mr Phil Richardson, apparently
the retired Marketing and Distribution Services Manager for Rover Mowers Limited. On this basis
I feel this is credible information and evidence of the Wizard is important to Australia vintage
lawnmower history.

I wonder if any Wizards survive?

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

PART TWO - Update for 2016
It is funny how some stories unravel. We now have corroborated evidence that the
company that made Rovers did, indeed, start with a model named Wizard.

That was revealed in a telling 2015 article by Power Equipment Australia Magazine
on Greenfield Products' founder Theo Reinhold, who worked in some senior capacity
for what became Rover Mowers. The relevant extract is shown below:-




For this discussion I would like to comment upon the statement, made by Theo;
that, ... it transpired that another business had prior claim to that name ...

This was the impetus for finding a new name for the lawnmower products made by
the Anderson family's GWA group. Theo lays claim that 'Rover' was his concoction.

I do not dispute that. I have found evidence, though, of the 'other company'.
I think it was the American Wizard:-


Source: c1950s, unattributed.

I suspect that Wizard was not a registered trade-name in Australia for a lawnmower -
but that name would have stifled any attempt of having export markets. But,
significantly, it just was not an original name for a lawnmower! 'Rover' was
always a clever name for a lawnmower - with connotations of reliability and
dependability - and it wasn't a car! Rover Mowers was born.

The Rest is history.
----------------------------
Jack

THEO REINHOLD - ARTICLE - PEA Magazine


Do you have information on the Wizard lawnmower?
A topic has been created HERE.