OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Company Histories GRANT & VICKERY - A Pioneering Mower Manufacturer

Hello ODK History Lovers

There is nothing straight forward in researching Australian vintage lawnmower
history. I have made good progress in the last few years, such that I have become
more confident in answering important "who was our first?" questions. This post
discusses an early - and problematic - Australian lawnmower manufacturer.

We have very little information on Grant and Vickery, a lawnmower manufacturer from
the pioneering era of Australian-made lawnmower manufacturers. Robert Grant and
Stanley Vickery formed some sort of association in about 1922, and were primarily
involved in lawnmower and marine products.

The factory was located at Barnstaple Road, Fivedocks, Sydney (between Lamrock and
Ingham Avenues), and they remained there, best guess, until the mid-1950s when the
company disappears.

They manufactured both petrol-powered reel mowers and commercial gang mowers from
about 1931 to the mid-1950s. Models are discussed in the Model Histories Forum
(see Related Links).

The unresolved issue for me is that there is evidence that they were manufacturing
lawnmowers prior to this - in the 1920s, making them one of the earliest local
manufacturers.



TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART TWO - Robert Grant

It would appear that Robert Grant was the driving force in the company.
The earliest records I have show that he was in business before his association
with Stanley Vickery, and trading from 18 Bridge Street in 1920, and then from
nearby 63 Pitt Street, Sydney. He was selling (as sole Australian Agent)
British Parsons marine engines.





Robert Grant would advertise these engines from Pitt Street until the end
of 1924, suggesting his move to Fivedock occurred shortly after this.
Sands Directory records show that Grant was at Pitt Street in 1925, but by
1927 the new company, Grant & Vickery, had established premises at Fivedock.

Interestingly, marine engines would again be advertised (along with associated
marine fittings) in the early 1930s. After 1933, the "marine side" of the
business seems to have ceased, probably because of a desire to specialise in
lawnmower production.



TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART THREE - Robert & Stanley

The first records of the association between Robert Grant and Stanley Vickery
I have date from the early 1920s. This association raises a complication: Was
Grant & Vickery a pioneering AUS lawnmower manufacturer, commencing business
before the 1930 protective tariffs - designed to start a lawnmower manufacturing
industry in this country. I believe the answer is yes!

In fact, through some newspaper Patent Applications notices, I have uncovered
two patents, both concerning lawnmowers. They are: "Improvements in Clutches",
dated March, 1922, and then "Improved Frames for Mounting Engines on Mowing
Machines", dated July, 1922.




Before I discuss the patents (next part), these Applications were helpful
in revealing additional information about the Applicants.

We discover that Robert Grant was an engineer, and his address is listed
at 63 Pitt Street, Sydney (as in the marine engine ads in Part Two (above).
We discover that Stanley Vickery was a grazier, of Victoria Street,
Strathfield. Both are listed as the Applicants and Actual Inventors of
the clutch and frame mechanisms.

TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART FOUR - The Patents

"Improvements in Clutches" - March, 1922,
"Improved Frames for Mounting Engines on Mowing Machines" - July, 1922.

Both these patents make specific reference to lawnmowers. The clutch patent
could have automotive applications, but the text and illustration specifically
envisages roller-type lawnmowers. The patents main claim is that it could dispense
with a separate differential, so quite an interesting read (patent attached below).



The lawnmower frame patent (attached) is also of much interest to the mower anorak.
Though not directly relevant to known Gravic mowers, it appears to be a design
patent that envisaged the powering of manual push mowers. If so, that would be
amazing. Scott Bonner, for example, converted imported push lawnmowers to electric
power a year later (1923



For me, the discovery of these patents raises the question as to whether
Grant & Vickery should be considered true Australian lawnmower pioneers,
that is, a manufacturer that made lawnmowers prior to the protective tariffs
of 1930. That discussion continues in the next part.

PART FIVE - Other Evidence

It is not just the existence of the two patents that makes it possible -
and likely - Grant & Vickery were manufacturing lawnmowers in the 1920s.

At a hearing before a Tariff Board in early 1925, Robert Grant argued for
'the removal or reduction' of the duty on small (portable) engines. Of
special note is the description given of the company: "general engineers,
specialising in motor-driven lawnmowers".



This 1925 record is evidence that the company is formed but there is some
ambiguity in the words "specialising in motor-driven lawnmowers". It may be,
like Scott Bonnar, they were converting imported reel-roller mowers to petrol
power at this time.

The last important records I have found are directory records for the
Fivedocks factory. The Sands Directory first lists the Fivedock factory in
1927 ... meaning Grant & Vickery were at Fivedock in 1926 (or before).

The last record of Robert Grant being at Pitt Street dates from 1925, where
the business is described as a "machinery merchant". This supports a factory
being at Fivedock by 1926 or before.

It is the 1928 Sands Directory Record, though, that is most significant.
The description given to the business is - "Gravic Motor Mower"! It is
for this reason (and lack of other evidence) that I date Gravic mowers
from c1928, making them a true pioneer Australian lawnmower manufacturer.



TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART SIX - Robert & Stanley - Revisited

Because this is such an important pioneering lawnmower manufacturer, I wish I
knew more about the participants and why they got into making lawnmowers before
there was any incentive to do so.

Robert Grant - the engineer - is almost a total mystery. I know his occupation
and his business addresses at Pitt Street and at Fivedock. I know he was an
inventor, and he sold marine and horticultural products ... lawnmowers. That's it.

Stanley Vickery - the grazier - is a little bit easier, and less interesting.
Born into a family with wealth and 'connections', he was part of the respectable
Sydney scene. I don't know how Robert & Stanley met in the early 1920s, but I
can't help but feel that Stanley was the financier, and that his name as "Actual
Inventor" reflected commercial reality rather than creative engineering talent.

He did have a lovely home on Victoria Street though, and his three daughters
kept the social pages busy ...



Robert Grant and Stanley Vickery parted ways in 1930.
It must have been amicable though; as Grant would keep the founding
company name of Grant & Vickery until the company's demise in the 1950s.



TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART SEVEN - The Selling Agencies

There is evidence that Gravic power reel mowers were being made in the late 1920s.
However, the earliest advertising records date from 1931. These ads were placed by
Grant & Vickery and, of note, is that they are also repairing all makes of lawnmowers
at this time.



Advertisements placed by Grant & Vickery are infrequent after the early thirties.
One reason would be the effects of the Great Depression at this time; another
might be that the company preferred to specialise in manufacture and leave it to
appointed agents to sell and advertise.

I have identified two agents that represented Gravic Mowers in NSW.
The first was the well-known and long established Alex Grahame and Company of
Leichardt. Grahame - the "Lawnmower King" - was arguably the largest non-
Department Store retailer in NSW, and boasted a huge selection of imported and
local machines.



I guess Alex Grahame's success was also his failure - if you happened to be
a local manufacturer. On the showroom floor, a make would have to 'compete'
with many competitors, including Alex Grahame's own lawnmowers!
[see Related Reading].

This may be the reason that Grant & Vickery changed agencies within a
couple of years.

The new agency would be another well-known an established business,
Motor Tractors Limited, of Young Street, and then at Wattle Street,
Broadway, Sydney. This association would prove enduring, lasting for
over two decades. Motor Tractors, who, itself, had agencies throughout
the state, would represent, sell and service both the petrol-powered
and Gravic Gang Mowers, and appear to have been the main Grant &
Vickery distributor for NSW.



Gravic mowers were sold in pretty much all the Eastern States, as
far south as Van Diemen's Land. Special mention should be made of the
Victorian Agent, C.J. White and Company, of Little Bourke Street,
Melbourne. Note the mention of the 'New Gravic', the model discussed
in the Model History forum (see Related Links).



TO BE CONTINUED ...

GRAVIC REEL MOWERS


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