ROTOMO DISPLAY - Ipswich Show - c1957 - OutdoorKing Repair Forum

Hello ODK History Lovers

The main photograph I would like to share appears in Part Two of the topic post.
However, as is typical, the backstory is also of some interest, so I have devoted
this first part to the story of a small (big for the town) ironmonger that became
a hardware and general store for the Ipswich community. Ipswich is now a large
urban city, located about 40 kilometers west of Brisbane, Queensland.

McKenzie and Jackson were Victa agents in Ipswich and I believe this established
hardware store had been operating since the early 1920s, but was originally a
general store established by G.H. Wilson & Co. They sold pretty much everything
and would have been a well-know and key business in Ipswich. Their slogan was,
The Cheapest House in Town. They advertised mostly American lawnmowers in the
1920s, but were certainly selling Australian-made push mowers from the 1930s
onward.

The premises were located at the corner of East and Limestone Streets, Ipswich.
These photos, published by the Ipswich Libraries, show how the business looked
in 1956.

[Linked Image]

Image: c1956 - Ipswich Libraries, copyright holder Whitehead Studios, Ipswich.

[Linked Image]

Image: c1956 - Ipswich Libraries, copyright holder Whitehead Studios, Ipswich.

The most exciting photo, though, was one taken in 1957, at the Ipswich Show
for that year. It was a display stand devoted to just one product: the Victa
Rotomo Model 2!

TO BE CONTINUED ...

Portal Box 6

Re: ROTOMO DISPLAY - Ipswich Show � c1957

CyberJack #70324 02/12/15 07:34 PM

Joined: Nov 2013

Posts: 6,938

Likes: 304

Tasmania

CyberJack

Forum Historian

PART TWO - The Victa Rotomo Display

The annual Ipswich Show has been running since 1873, and it is probably the
main event for the community. At the 1957 Show the authorised Victa Agents,
McKenzie & Jackson, had a small stand that featured the new Victa Rotomo
Model 2.

The photo depicts not one, but five Victa Rotomos. Note that the Victa slogan
for 1957 is presented on the bases of the display stands: NO velvet lawn too
fine NO jungle growth too tough (see Related Reading).

[Linked Image]

Image: c1957 - Ipswich Libraries, copyright holder Whitehead Studios, Ipswich.

There are two points of interest to me (apart from the mowers).
The first is the top display panel, contrasting the old single horse power
pushie lawnmower against the new 2 hp Victa 125cc engine. Out with the
old; in with the new.

The second is the pained, central backdrop, depicting a garden path
with heavy growth at the top and fine lawn at the bottom. This is based
on an actual Victa advertisement, also from 1957. The similarity is obvious:-

[Linked Image]

In many ways, this great show stand replicates what was then happening
across Australia with Victa - a revolution in mowing headed by the circus
master, Victa Mowers.

The Model 1 and Model 2 Victas would have been the first Victas Queenslanders
would have seen, and this display reflects the efforts taken by one of the
first Victa Agencies in Queensland. Victa was now spreading its holy word
throughout Australia. The rotary revolution was well under way.

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

[Linked Image]