G'day
Gizmo and
Mowerfreak.
I'm so glad folk like yourself are contributing to these heavenly Celestials.
Gizmo has contributed great images for the record. Thank you.
while my dad did go for the cheapest model in the Walton store, he didn't go for nasty.
, that is so true!
The
Walton's Celestial brand was their premium store brand.
The Celestials of the early to mid 1970s were essentially Victa's premium
chassis from the 1960s (Corvette), but with 1970's powerplants.
I am better starting to understand the
chronology of the Celestial.
I will say something significant here; in that Waltons gained access to the
Victa high-arch design by about 1977. Prior to this, high arch Victas
were exclusively Victa branded.
Thus, for a year or so, the Celestial would be offered as both a low arch (Corvette) chassis,
and with a high-arch (Monaro) chassis. By the end of the 1970s, the mid-arch machine
would struggle for commercial acceptance. It would disappear.
Waltons was big enough to offer more than one store band.
When they dropped the mid-arch Celestial they offered their mid-arch
Charger.
The Charger had a stencil Victa
Mayfair chassis, extensively used by Victa
for store branded mowers in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Walton's Celestial should be remembered as one of the significant store brands
of the period. Many survive to this day.
The rest is history.--------------------------------
Jack
