OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Photos of Collections The Paul C Collection

Had all my mowers out of the shed today, coming into cooler weather makes the days more tolerable :-)

paul that is a very impressive collection. i have two questions, the one at the back fourth from left with the red tank??? and more specifically what grass lowering device did you use to make that lawn look so good.
sean

Hi Sean,

The one at the back is a Villager with a Villiers 7F engine

https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=71980



I mowed yesterday with the Atom

https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=73584#Post73584



All my mowers are used, no shelf queens allowed :-)

Some great mowers there Paul!

Thanks Kye

Nice collection! Love the ATOM.very cool looking

Hello all Contributors

As Forum Historian I feel compelled to say something here.
Paul is a mature collector who has an innate sense of the important.
Many times, he has saved mowers that could have easily been lost.

I am grateful that many collectors are helping preserve Australian
lawnmower history. We are making inroads in educating many collectors
to look beyond the 'trendy choices'.

If I may put Victa and the reels to the side here, I would like to express my
thoughts on this collection's contribution to Australian vintage mowers.

Top rank must go to the Clyde Rotary and the Exceller Collect-O-Matic.
Both are 1950s machines and are extremely rare. I have identified the Clyde
as our first rear-catcher rotary. The Collect-O-Matic is an enigma; in that
it was our most technologically advanced rotary of the 1950s, but its importance
seems to have been misunderstood or ignored.

Second rank would have to go to these:

Turner - this was Turner's first 2-stroke model. This machine is
important because Turner would be amongst the Big Players of the 1960s.

Villager - made great 'toecutter copies in the 1950s and posed a
threat to the big players. Their cooling system (on early machines)
was quite novel. Villager would survive the early sixties but lacked
capital and distribution to compete with the big players.

Atom Mofast - Mofast was one of the earliest makes to recognise
the importance of a 'mower range'. Though they did not survive to see much
of the 1960s, their styles reflected the modern 'space age'.

Colda - a rare machine that reflected the desire of post-war
manufactures to expand their horizons in the booming appliance market.
A refrigerator company ventured into lawnmowers in the late 1950s.

Southern Cross - another company that struggled to adapt to
post-war Australia. Early designs are interesting in that SC made
the total mower - engine and chassis. Not too many manufacturers can
boast that! These are, again, rare machines.

HG Palmer - The most important of the mass retailers of the
1950s and 1960s. They had a range of exclusive store brand mowers
of great quality. Unlike today's mob, they did service what they sold.
Their downfall: poor accountants and over-ambitious management.

All very collectible.
------------------------
Jack

The Clyde doesn't quite look right on those modern wheels haha.

Hi Kye,
I have temporarily fitted the wheels until I can find some tyres to go on the cast wheels, it does make it a lot easier and quieter to move around :-)

Hi Jack and ODK members,
I would like to say that when I pulled my mowers from the shed my only thought was to get them all outside to give the shed a good sweep out and a tidy up. While they were there the photo opportunity was to good not to miss, a good friend of mine had asked me how many mowers I had so I took the photos for her.

I shared the photos here and on social media because I figured other collectors would be interested in the various makes. I am not into showing off or one upping anybody, I just like to find old mowers tidy them up and have them running once more. Jack has given me a lot of assistance with historical information and guidance when I find a mower that I am interested in.

The only problem is that now my wife knows how many mowers I actually have !

Hi Paul & Kye

Yes, I see what you did there Paul.

Please forgive me for taking the opportunity to move your photos and give
them a title in the correct forum. You did try and sneak them in but you
were sprung . . . like the Atom handle.

Positives to tell the wife -
"Honey, since the culling of 2015, this is all I have left"
"I'm looking after the neighbours' mowers - isn't mower pooling great"
"So, you want another pair of shoes - awesome!"
"These are mower refugees ... look into your heart."
"The mower's broken down. Thank God for the spare."

----------------------
Jack

Hi Jack,
I must say that it was quite a culling last year, my wife is a good sort really :-).

excellent collection paul_c
i love the old victas but what impresses me most are the more unusual ones you have.
this era of design in all things will never be as good as it was back then.
whether it being cars or bikes ,pushbikes heaters toasters infact most things from that era just had style.
ive noticed and purchased a new toaster. seems the new trend on design is old retro.
i just picked up an old scooter too ,one that ive been after for 2 years now as these things are now selling for big money.this thing just has a great look to it (i think).
anyway love you shared your collection with us mate. i too dont want to fill the yard with mine as for fear of the wrath of the better half.
cheers bazz
ps:
a pic of my scooter

Thanks Bazz,

Love the scooter, even still has its kick back stand. It's interesting that people acknowledge that old items were made to a better standard, being unemployed at the moment I have recycled quite a few mowers that buyers have wanted over Chinese ones from Bunnings and Masters.

I have also heard from them that they would not buy a modern Victa but would buy the older ones with a reconditioned engine and solid base etc. Sadly all too late unless the Chinese economy collapses and manufacturing kicks off here again. Then we would have to start all over again with steel smelters etc that are now all gone.

Sorry Paul, manufacturing here is now a thing of the past, the skills to set up the now defunct industries are all dying off and can never be reinvigorated again. It all comes under the names of "progress" "globalization" "free trade agreements" all terms used by governments to convince us they are looking after our interests

You have an excellent collection there Paul. So many different makes and models! Puts my Southern Cross KXD-2 restoration efforts to shame.

Looking forward to some photos of the KXA when you finish it.

I will have to post some photos of my fully restored KXD-2 now that it is complete. I would have posted photos earlier only I kept having problems, mainly with an annoying fuel leak on the carby which kept ruining the paintwork. But I seem to have finally got that problem fixed. The second KXD-2 has just had the engine overhauled, but still needs the chassis repaired and it is missing a few wheels.

Thanks vint_mow, I should do an update pic. I have added a few more machines since, a few Rovers a Whirlwind and of course your KXA :-)

hello Paul c really nice collection you have there . Is that a qulcast commadore in the first picture.

Hi Hermosil, yes it is. It's in great condition.