G'day
vint-mow, Jefff and GizmoI feel we are all learning things here.
Early Rover is such a difficult topic,
but more information is slowly appearing.
In an earlier post I made about the Fairway catcher, you posted a photo of a Fairway advertisement in a 1964 newspaper. I guess they were probably still trying to sell off their original production line of the Fairway, as Rover was a northern company trying to compete with larger, established companies. But this does suggest that the Fairway was probably made around about the same time as the first Rover?
This is unclear
vint_mow.
To me the Fairway was originally a 'stencil' mower rather than a store brand.
Stencils sold at various stores, rather than customised 'store' brands.
Stencils started appearing in the mid-1960s. Best guess.
The first Rovers appeared with Simplex engines in the mid-1950s.
Don't forget the
Wizard. These were no stencils.
I feel there was a real effort for mower makers to remain 'aloof' of early stencils.
and I have argued this was really to appease the growing factions between the
small agencies and the emerging mass retailers.
In other words, the Rover
Fairway and the Victa
Mayfair were very strategic targets.
Later, both companies would
own their offspring.
Jeff, that's a intriguing story there.
Is the reference to the ill-fated Villier's Lightweight 4-stroke?
Gizmo, many thanks for the extensive gallery.
I hope there is firther discussion about that in furthering our
understanding of early Rovers.
Cheers--------------------------
Jack
