Hello ODK History Lovers,

This post is about an important, though unrecognised, mower in Australian vintage mower history.
It's the New Moon reel mower and it dates from the 1920s.

Context:-
I found a few advertisements for the New Moon by accident (as usual) and they were a
real surprise. Its name "New Moon" and the ad copy made me immediately think ... USA.
[Americans were always into snake oil and New-Age experiences].

Then . . . I looked at the ad. - it said on the tank, 'Sydney'!
What I initially identified as a Villiers engine proved completely wrong.
The mower and its engine were Australian!

Was this our first petrol-powered mower?

I wrote in late 2013 this:
Australian engine researcher and historian Eric Schulz identified the machine (from a 1925 magazine)
as having been made by Lark, Parkes & Co Ltd, Sydney. The company claimed that they built the engine
themself, only the carburettor and magneto were imported. Apparently, it had a 300 - 5000 rpm range.

Here are the pictures from that 1925 magazine article:-
[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]


All very interesting.
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JACK