Stripper Harvester - H.V. McKay, 'Sunshine' Harvester, Ballarat, Victoria, 1906

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A Place & Date Made Ballarat, Australia

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Summary:: The Sunshine Stripper Harvester is famous for combining in one machine the functions of the stripper and winnower. In one operation it could gather and thresh the ripe heads, separate the grain from the chaff and deliver the grain for bagging. This stripper harvester was made at the H. V. McKay Sunshine Harvester Works, Ballarat, 1906.
Description:: Serial No: 8193.
List of Parts: Chain Link
Statement Of Significance:: A number of Australians were involved in the development of the stripper harvester. The most important was HV McKay who produced a successful machine in 1884 and subsequently manufactured large numbers as the "Sunshine" stripper harvester. The development of the stripper harvester increased the efficiency of cereal harvesting and helped to establish Australia as a leading cereal producing country.

The great drought of 1902 froze the demand for harvesters. With 200 machines and no crops to harvester or prospect of selling them, McKay was compelled to look outside Australia for an alternative market for his equipment and sent his brother Sam with 50 machines to Argentina. This was the start of a very successful export market that included South America, South Africa, Siberia and the United States. Until the First World War halted trade McKay sold over 10,000 harvesters to South American countries.

The innovative stripper harvester was the basis on which the McKay company became the largest agricultural manufacturing enterprise in the Southern Hemisphere.
Acquisition Information:: Donation from J. Pollard, 1966

Discipline:	Technology
Dimensions:	230 cm (Height), 280 cm (Width), 340 cm (Length)

More information

Tagged with:	agriculture, exports, harvesting equipment, industrial design, innovations, stripper harvesters
Themes this item is part of:	Hugh V. McKay, Agricultural Implement & Machinery Manufacturer, Ballarat & Sunshine, Victoria, H.V. McKay Sunshine Collection, Sunshine Stripper Harvester, Sustainable Futures Collection, H.V. McKay Massey Harris Pty Ltd, Agricultural Equipment Manufacturers & Importers, Sunshine, Victoria, The Sunshine Harvester Works, Sunshine, Victoria, Australia, McKay's Brandnames, Origin of the 'Sunshine' Brandname
Primary Classification:	AGRICULTURE & RURAL LIFE
Secondary Classification:	Crop Management - Harvesting
Tertiary Classification:	stripper harvesters
Place & Date Made:	H.V. McKay, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 1906
References:	http://museumvictoria.com.au/sunshine/ viewed 12.05.2008 LDH
Bibliography:	[Chapter] Dale-Hallett, Liza, et al. 'The McKay Collection', in Rasmussen, Carolyn. A Museum for the People: A History of Museum Victoria. p.271-273., 2001 [Article] 2003. "Resurrecting the Sunshine Harvester Works: Re-presenting and Reinterpreting the Experience of Industrial Work in Twentieth-Century Australia", Labour History., 2003 [Article] Dale-Hallett, Liza. 2004. "Collecting by Stealth: the HV McKay Collection", Museum Victoria Magazine., 2004

Comments

mervyn evans Posted on 18 Jul 2010 10:18 AM

hola tengo una maquina striper australiana en la patagonia, si usted tiene algun manual de esta genial maquina me interesaria aunque sea una copia para poder restaurarla, desde ya gracias

Discovery Centre Posted on 19 Jul 2010 12:18 PM