OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Model Histories NZ Power Reel Models AJAX Power Lawnmower - c1950s

Hello ODK History Lovers

As a lawnmower researcher, the name Ajax is problematic.
It's a generic name with references to mythology, people, technology, sport, vehicles, literature,
music, art, cleaning products, and even video games. Ajax was a name brand which made several
appearances in Mickey Mouse stories. I guess that is where I remember the name from; along with
that cleaning powder I used to scrub the sink and bath tub with ...

Generic lawnmower names are the hardest to search for, for this reason.

Ajax was used as a Scott Bonnar model from the 1930s; it was a famous and popular Ransomes push
mower; and New Zealand produced its own Ajax - a small powered reel mower from the 1950s.
This record is about the NZ machine.

The NZ Ajax was of a most unusual design - being a reel-roller lawnmower, but fitted with a rear catcher.
I have just one advertisement in my collection, and it is undated. My best guess is that this machine dates
from the mid-1950s.



TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART TWO - Specification
If ever there was a machine ahead of its time it would be the New Zealand Ajax.
So little seems to be known about them. Certainly, circa 1950s. But when!

We know the Ajax was made in Hamilton, NZ. That's about it . . .

In these photos, gratefully supplied by NZ collector Greg S, the machine design is not ordinary.
We have an ugly duckling reel mower with a very unusual feature.

It's not the unusual clutch bar on the handle (although that's a bit odd). It's the catchment system:
front reel - rear roller - rear catcher. This machine predates the 'revolutionary' 1970s Scott Bonnar
Diplomat by two decades! What's going on here? And this is not the only NZ reel/roller power mower
to use a rear catcher!

Rear catcher side-wheel power mowers are common; but rear catcher rear-roller mowers are not.
The natural tendency of reel mowers is to throw grass rearwards - and this design capitalised on that.
I might add, this is not the only NZ reel/roller power mower to use a rear catcher!

This 16" machine was powered by a JAP 2A engine. The transmission appears to have been a dual-drive one:
but the drive system appears to have not been a true twin drive system - with separate clutches, separately
enabling the reel or roller.

It is a modern design - with steel side frames and tubular handles. Note the Morrison-style grass catcher.

This Ajax machine appeared on a New Zealand auction site a few years' ago.
The Ajax is missing its engine [sold separately].

These images were recorded by NZ collector and ODK member Alan M.
Many thanks to Alan for recognising the historical significance of the Ajax.

These images record a second known example of the NZ Ajax.
They also reveal a different perspective of the transmission and chassis.

Note the beautiful Ajax catcher transfer (in the Art Deco style) and what appears to be a
smaller diameter rear roller - to permit a wider access chute to the rear catcher. Brilliant!