OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Model Histories AUSTRALIAN Power Reel Models HAXBY REEL MOWER - c1950s - Not Quite Forgotten

Hello ODK members,

I am compelled to write about the Haxby lawnmower because no one else has.
This won't be a long article - because there is very little information on this machine.

I know the Haxby was made at 53 Wright Street, Sunshine, Victoria, and that the manufacturer
was Haxby Brothers, a company formed in about 1946.

I do not know what their main line of manufacture was. I do know that they made a 14 inch mower
that was powered by a 98c.c. Villiers engine. It was not a cheap machine, selling for the price
of imported Ransomes and Atco machines in 1954 [from the only illustrated advertisement I have].
I know they were cheaper if bought direct from the factory.

That's all I know.
The 1954 newsprint illustration here (an edited full-page ad. from the Melbourne Department
Store McEwans gives very little detail about this intriguing machine.

UPDATE - November 2016
I was surprised when Sir Chook told me there was a Haxby lawnmower on an
auction site. Sure enough, there was the mysterious 14" machine. It had been
restored at some point, and the catcher was missing, but it was otherwise all
there. The thing that looked like a coffee percolator in the illustration was
a Villiers Midget Mk2.

The most surprising thing was the design. Its style and materials were similar
to the British Jerram & Pearson Super and Simplex mowers of the day -
with their curvy alloy side frames.

The JPs were at the premium-end of reel lawnmower design in their day.
That the Haxby Brothers would attempt some sort of copy is a credit to
their recognising the JP quality of engineering. It was the best.

... And we can finally put a face to an almost forgotten Aussie name - Haxby!




Source: Gumtree November, 2016

Pending.


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