OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Company Histories METALAIR Ltd.: c1940s - The Ladybird Mowers

Hello ODK History Lovers,

This series of posts explore and discuss a distinctive looking rotary that was sold here years
before the first Victa rotary mowers. I would like to explore the company that made them,
and the other products they were known for.

If you choose to call a mower a 'Ladybird' then you probably wouldn't attract the
barbie and backyard boys who love their meat pies, kangaroos, Holden Cars and ... Victa mowers.
The name Ladybird now seems a bit . . . 'girlie'...?

But in the immediate post-war world it would not have been seen this way. Aggressive names like
'Combat' and 'Commando' and other mower names would have been considered in poor taste at that time.
I still think they are . . .

The Ladybird mower was advertised in England as "The Ladies' Mower".
When you look at Britain's context, the name made perfect sense. Post war, Britain was war-ravaged,
with tens of thousands of men not returning home, it did fall on the widow in many cases to be self-sufficient.
The rather effeminate name captured the softer, electric appliance market that was emerging.

Having said that, the Ladybird was not marketed as a lady's mower here.
Here, the marketers captures the revolutionary rotary features and the space-age looks.
If ever there was a space-age mower, it would be the 'Ladybird' electric 12 inch rotary.

To put you in the picture, here is an early advertisement from 1949.

PART TWO - WHO WAS METALAIR?

The Ladybird was manufactured post-war by Metalair Ltd, Engineers and Manufacturers, of
Wokingham, Berkshire. The best source of information (brief as it is) came from a 2010 post by
Malcolm Whatley, the son of the founder of Metalair.

He says his father started Metalair around the time of the Second World War.
But just like the situation faced by Australian manufacturers post war, the company
had to diversify when Government war contracts ended.

Malcolm Whatley says that Metalair "manufactured electric clocks, anodised tea trays,
children's tricycles, and the first rotary lawn mower called the Ladybird."

Metalair's early fame seemed to be with the electric clocks:-



Resource: If you would like more information on Metalair clocks then visit The Las Pook Miscellany

PART THREE - LADYBIRD 12" ELECTRIC ROTARY

The Ladybird was sold in Australia from early 1949,and it was sold in most States -
as North as Cairns in Queensland, and as West as Perth in Western Australia.

This would make it, I believe, the second imported rotary mower to be sold here after the
Rotoscythe petrol rotary that was sold here from about 1937.

This takes nothing away from Australia's first rotary mower ' The Tecnico' that was
introduced from about mid to late 1948. The first Tecnico had only a 10 inch cut; The Ladybird
was a massive 12 inches!

In the advertisement below from early 1950, note how the copy claims that the mower
would cut any length of grass. Also note that the ad. specifically mentions 'Dad'
and not 'Mum':-



The David Jones Feature:-
It was a lucky find for me to discover a feature article written on this mower in the
Sydney Morning Herald, 15 January, 1950. This was important evidence in my assertion that
electric rotaries were ubiquitous or everywhere by the time Mervyn Richardson created his rotary Victa.

The Ladybird was sold at at least one major department store - David Jones.
In a paid feature by a "D.J.'s Special Correspondent" the machine was described as a
'revolutionary device' that 'cut its way through a century of orthodox, evolutionary design
almost overnight.'

The article makes the reader aware of the 'new type, rotary cutting action' that
'will cut literally any type of grass under practically any conditions . . .' The article also
makes the reader aware that D.J.'s also sold the Australian Tecnico. Of special note is
the representation of 'Mum", 'Dad', and now the 'Child' in the Australian mowing experience:-

PART FOUR - LADYBIRD MK 1 MODELS & Brochure

The Ladybird had many of the features that would define Australian rotaries
in the 1950s. It was lightweight, being of aluminium construction, it would cut close
to edges, and it would cut forward or reverse. The clear 'defect' was its cutting width:
all early electrics had small cutting width sizes. The first petrol rotaries capitalised
on this 'defect'.

There appears to have been only two variants of the 12" electric machine.
It may have been that an upgrade was needed to suit Australia's more severe conditions.

In about 1954 two changes were made: a more powerful motor and an automatic overload cut-out.



THE DEMISE
The Son of the owner of the original Metalair company, Malcolm Whatley, said, "I was born in 1938,
and on his death in 1956, we had to sell the Co. for death duties."

It would appear to me that that spelt the end of the little Ladybird - at least here
in Australia. The last advertisement I have found dates from 1957.

The Ladybird is important to Australian vintage mower history. Yet, they go
largely un-recognised.

Remember, this is a rotary that was sold in reasonable quantity before any Victa.
The last machine on eBay attracted 2 bids and sold for $31. Disappointing.
Today, however, there is more interest being shown in these odd machines.



I hope this article will help collectors remember (and help save) the space-age little Ladybird:-

PART FIVE - Conversion Kits

The idea of the conversion kit for manual push mowers probably originated in
America. As motors (petrol & electric) became lighter, smaller and cheaper, many companies
offered conversion kits for manual mowers. Some companies here did offer this service.

I do not believe that the Ladybird Kit sold on our shores, the obvious reason being
that their kits were designed to fit popular British makes that were much less popular here.
We had our own manufacturers that were offering cheaper 'hybrid' mowers (essentially push mowers
with petrol or electric motor designs).

The Ladybird Kit
Here the company is Ladybird Appliances Ltd., trading from Molly Millers Lane, Wokingham, Berkshire.
The kit was designed to fit many British manual push mowers - the Webbs, Ransomes, Qualcasts and the like.
Of particular note in the advertisement reproduced below is the AC/DC motor 'geared down through a train
of nylon gears.'

These images courtesy of The Vintage Horticultural & Garden Machinery Club




Here is a typical Ladybird electric conversion. This one is on a Ransomes Ajax push mower.
These kits were still being offered in the 1970s:-

PART SIX - LADYBIRD REEL MOWER

There is some evidence that Metalair manufactured their own 12 inch electric reel mower
for a short period. They would have to be super rare. I have no evidence that any were imported and
sold on these shores:-






UPDATE August, 2016
I recently acquired a Ladybird Roller Mower brochure, and I feel
it should be part of the record. It is highly unlikely they sold in AUS.

This is my Ladybird MK1, 12" electric.
[circa 1949-1952 (model without overload cut-out)]

Note that it has long swing-back blades - quite revolutionary for the day!

[Early machine with on/off button on cowling]

PART SEVEN - The MK2 LADYBIRDS
Ladybird, under its latter owners, Ladybird Appliances Limited, of Molly Millars Lane,
Wokingham, developed the brand to include a new version of the Ladybird in two cut sizes,
a 12" and an 18". It appears they continued production of the Conversion Unit and their
own Roller Mower.
- Ladybird Electric Floor Polisher (sold in AUS)
- Ladybird 18" Electric Rotary
- Ladybird 12" Electric Rotary
- Ladybird Power Unit (for conversions)
- Ladybird Electric Roller Mower

Acknowledgement
Clive Gravett, of the Old Lawnmower Club, has very generously supplied extra information
on the later Ladybirds that has helped build a more complete picture. A sincere thank you.

Ladybird 'responded' to the British rotary revolution by making a larger electric rotary
lawnmower - the Ladybird '18'. At some point, a smaller Ladybird '12', a 12" version,
replaced the original Model 1 machine.

The newer models (12" and 18") appear to have been built around a clever patent that
essentially adjusted the cutting height of the machine by lowering (or raising) the
motor and base, rather than adjusting height via the front wheels and rear roller.
These were affixed to a rigid tubular frame structure.


SOURCE: LH image courtesy BRITISH LAWNMOWER MUSEUM

For me, the later Ladybirds lost their main aesthetic feature - the space aged saucer
shape that somewhat resembled the shell of a ladybird. The MK II machines look - skeletal!
That's a personal thing though, I guess.


LH: 18" machine; RH: 12" machine
SOURCE: BRITISH LAWNMOWER MUSEUM
[With thanks to Clive Gravett and Brian Radam]

I do not have evidence these newer models sold here, and it is highly unlikely that
they would have. Australia was, by 1960, sold on the idea of petrol powered lawnmowers.

Having said that, the electric mower was not dead.
The giant Sunbeam Corporation introduced their new 18" electric mower
in 1960. By this time, electric lawnmowers had a niche market of loyal
supporters. By the late 1970s, folks would start to take a new interest...

The rest is history.
-----------------------------
Jack

PART EIGHT - Brochures
I make available two brochures. The first is for the MK1 12" machine.
Many thanks to Clive Gravett for supplying this one. The second is from my
collection, the MK2 18" machine.

Pending ...


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