"If they were big business after the war, any idea what were they used for? Was it for hay cutting?"
Hi Norm I guess the answer would have to be 'yes' to cutting hay, but that wasn't the major use. Prior to the rotary revolution, it was only the motorised sickle mower that could cut high grass. Post war, there was an influx of ex-soldiers that settled on smaller farm lots.
The sickle mower was a good land clearer - "long grass, bracken, weeds, brambles, rough matted and tangled growth, besides ... cultivated crops."
These machines were bought by councils for verge work, and cutting steeper embankments.
The heritage of the sickle-bar mower is, of course, agriculture. 'Hay mowers' were just larger versions, powered by horses, and then tractors. Hay mowers were heavily advertised and were on most farms in Australia.
The downside of the design was maintenance. Sharpening a set of fingers on a special grinder took hours. The other problem was the tendency to clog or jam in some applications.
Sickle bar mowers were still being sold in the 1960s and '70s, but the reality is - their popularity was ended by the rotary slasher mowers.
The smaller machines, like the Allan, were sold on the basis of cheapness and versatility (attachments). They were a crossbreed between the agric- ultural hay mowers and the horticultural lawnmowers.
Cheers ---------------------- Jack
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Some attempts were made to make sickle bar mowers look respectable for cutting grass...
![[Linked Image]](https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/uploads/usergals/2016/01/full-7392-26312-related_reading.jpg)
