OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Model Histories UK & EUROPEAN Power Reel Models ARUNDEL, COULTHARD & Co. – Arunco Rollmo Power Mower – c1930s

Hello ODK history lovers
The British Arundel, Coulthard & Company of Preston, Lancashire,
England appears to have begun business in the early 20th Century.
At that time, they were textile machinery manufacturers.

By the 1930s, Arundel Coulthard began lawnmower production –
producing manual side-wheel, and roller mowers. They also made
powered reel mowers.

This article is a record for their power mower – the Arunco Rollmo,
a 14” powered roller mower sold in Australia from about 1937 to
about the mid-1950s.

In the homeland these mowers were branded as 'Presto Rollmos'
[‘Presto’ derived from the city Preston]. Here that could not be so …
we had an Australian side-wheel lawnmower named ‘Presto’ that sold
widely in the day [Here, ‘presto’ meant ‘pressed steel’].

So AUS machines were sold as the Arunco Rollmo power mower
[‘Arunco’ being an abbreviation of the company name].



TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART TWO – ROLLMOs in Australia
The Arunco Rollmo first sold here in the interwar years, but that would be
short-lived. Post WWII, the Rollmo reappears in about 1950.

They appear to have been sold in the 3 main Eastern States –
Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

The Victorian Distributor was Milledge Bros. of 287 Elizabeth Street,
Melbourne. In NSW, the great department store Nock & Kirby sold the
Rollmo. In Queensland, QPS [Queensland Pastoral Supplies] advertised
the Rollmo across Queensland regional centres.

It is clear that the Arunco Rollmo lacked a national distributor, and
distribution was ad-hoc.

These mowers would have sold in relatively low volume.

PART THREE – ROLLMOs – The Bigger Picture
My best resource here is Grace’s Guide, the leading source of
historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain.

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Grace%27s_Guide

For the record, Arundel, Coultard appear to have sold all their models here:
their push side-wheels, their push roller mowers, and their powered roller mower.

PART FOUR - Gallery
The respected Old Lawnmower Club notes that the powered
Rollmo has similarities to the Qualcast 16 of that period.

Their record – MP038 – may be found HERE

I have written about the Qualcast 16 HERE

The stylistic similarity between the Rollmos and the Qualcasts
is undeniable. In fact, it has not gone un-noticed that Qualcast
acquired Arundel, Coulthard & Co. in the 1950s …

In Australia, there is little evidence of the powered Rollmo.