PLATYPUS Rotary Lawnmower - c1956 - OutdoorKing Repair Forum

Hello ODK history lovers,

Just when you think you have seen it all � and know it all - a new
Australian vintage mower discovery comes along. It is always a humbling
experience.

I had written about the Platypus reel mowers, made in Sydney from about
1946 (see Related Reading below). But this was something quite different �
a Platypus rotary mower! It is now clear that the Platypus Tool Company
made a move from their former address at Angel Place, Sydney, to 97 Anzac
Avenue, West Ryde, Sydney.

I have found two advertisements, both from late 1956, which depict the
most unusual � and awkward � of rotary mower designs: a forward discharge,
forward catching rotary. Yes, a rotary with a grass catcher (box) at the
front!

[Linked Image]

TO BE CONTINUED ...

Portal Box 6

Re: PLATYPUS Rotary Lawnmower - c1956

CyberJack #70222 29/11/15 04:10 AM

Joined: Nov 2013

Posts: 6,938

Likes: 308

Tasmania

CyberJack

Forum Historian

PART TWO � Platypus Rotary

In the clearer newsprint photo below, more details emerge.
The mower appears to be powered by an Australian-made Hardman & Hall
Simplex 85cc two stroke engine.

Interestingly, the chassis has an advanced single point height adjuster
mounted central LH side. This appears to be similar to, and no doubt,
influenced by the Australian Minter lawnmower and its patent adjuster
of 1955.

The base appears to be alloy and it has a significant skirt,
suggesting reasonable cutting and catching efficiency. The handles
are fixed and the fuel tank is handle-mounted.

[Linked Image]

The most noticeable feature is the forward mounted chute and �grass box�.
On their reel mowers, Platypus had made their catchers out of canvas
stretched over a light steel frame. I suspect that is what they have done
here too. The catcher does appear to be fully enclosed.

In terms of design, this arrangement is flawed. The discharge chute is
front left; meaning that it is mounted in the least-efficient place for
a clockwise rotating engine (flywheel side). The grass would have to
travel a full 180 degrees before discharge (when mowing forward).

Placing the catcher at the front would have somewhat compromised user
turning control, and the extra length would have seriously compromised
maneuverability in tight spaces.

TO BE CONTINUED �

Re: PLATYPUS Rotary Lawnmower - c1956

CyberJack #70224 29/11/15 06:37 AM

Joined: Nov 2013

Posts: 6,938

Likes: 308

Tasmania

CyberJack

Forum Historian

PART THREE � Significance

The Platypus Tool Company has fascinated me for years, and I commend to
you the article I wrote on them and their reel mowers (see Related Reading).
It was a real surprise that they not only made a rotary lawnmower but made
such an un-conventional one!

In the mid-1950s the idea that a rotary lawnmower could collect grass
was almost unheard of: There were the imported and expensive Rotoscythe
machines; the primitive after-market Emu grass catcher; the Clyde Minor
& Major; and the Rotoscythe inspired Collect-O-Matic. All of these are
highly collectible.

Nothing compares to the Platypus Rotary, though, for its novelty and,
ultimately, flawed design. This is why it is so collectible: This mower
represents a time when Australian lawnmower design was in a state of
flux � between the fight for supremacy between the skirt-less �toe-
cutter� bases and the skirted bases � the Golden Age of AUS rotaries.

The Clyde lawnmower of 1956 would influence the �conventional� rear-
catcher design approach of the 1960s � low arch, and with good cutting
and catching ability. The ultimate winners, though, would be the radical
British Rotoscythe, and the AUS Collect-O-Matic, because they saw that
the most efficient grass catching lawnmower would be high-arch and rear
discharge. It seems so obvious in hindsight doesn't it?

I do not know of any collector who has a Platypus Rotary. I have never
seen one, or any photographic evidence beyond the newsprint quality
images I have presented in this History Record.

I do hope one (or more) of these machines survive and will be found.
The issue of catching grass was in its infancy in Australia when the
unique Platypus Rotary appeared on showroom floors. We know it was
sold in Sydney and in Brisbane through the agency of C & A Wilkey.
What a magic � and odd � lawnmower!

The rest is history.
-------------------------------------------
Jack