Summary

Trade catalogue, "Testimonials...Auto Header Pioneers. Yorke Peninsula, South Australia'.
Pocket sized booklet. Stapled, 60 pages with line drawings and photographs. Each page has a testimonial from a farmer, including details of date, name, location, and a portrait photograph. Some pages also include photographs of the property homestead.

The Foreword highlights the special features of South Australian agriculture - John Ridley first developed the reaper in S.A. in 1843-44, the readiness of S.A. farmers take up new farming technology, and there are more Auto Headers working in the district of Maitland, Yorke Peninsula than any other district in the Commonwealth. The booklet celebrates the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the Auto Header to South Australia.

The Foreword promotes the Auto Header which was introduced into S.A. in 1925. The Foreword claims: that since this time the Yorke Peninsula farmers have averaged 5,025 acres per machine, representing 4,941,000 bushels of wheat and barley, Auto Headers in S.A. have harvested an estimate of 1,250,000 acres of grain, "It is definite that the cost of duplicate parts supplied to all users of Auto Headers in S.A. is less than 1 per cent per annum of the farmers' capital invested." The Foreword also claims the "The Auto will harvest 40 to 50 acres a day on a petrol consumption of one-half gallon per acre." This is equivalent to 2.27 litres for every 16-20 hectares per day.

"Remarkable yearly acreage performances - World Records - have been established by L.J. Colliver (1,000 acres), C. G. R. Cane (900 acres), J. F. Bell (800 acres), A. R. Vandepeer (800 acres), H. A. Schulz (750 acres), F. Greenslade (700 acres)..."
"Overseas, the Auto Header has been successfully introduced into Canada, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand, and England."

Page 4 has a photograph of Headlie S. Taylor, the designer of the Auto Header, and a photograph of the "Sunshine Auto Header, 12 ft. Cut - The World's Greatest Harvesting Machine"

Page 5: "The Evolution of Australian Harvesting Machines" with illustrations of the John Ridley stripper, 1845, the H.V. McKay stripper harvester, 1884, and the Sunshine Auto Header 1923.

Page 6: Enhanced photograph of an Auto Header in England.

Page 7: Photograph of a "Fleet of Sunshine Headers led by the Sunshine Auto Header, A harvest scene in Queensland."

Page 8: Photograph of "The Auto Header in Down and tangled crop."

Testimonials from farmers as follows: Syd. Greenslade, F.H. Koch, J.F. Bell, C.G.R. Cane, Walter Agnew, J.A. Murdoch, S.A. Clasohm, H.H. Moody, B.J. Koch, J.S. Honnner (and 'Glennanaar' homestead), E.W. Clasohm, F.B. Smith, W.H. Bagshaw, H.A. Shulz, J.P. Ferguson, F. Greenslade, L.A. Clasohm (and homestead), W.G. Boundy, R. Goldsworthy, A.J. Short, W.H. Borgmeyer, H. Gutschke, F.T. Slade, L.J. Colliver, H.E.B. Schilling, B.A. Koch, L.S. Andrew, E.F. Moloney (and homestead), T.M. Neligan, W.J. Colliver, E.W. Davies, L.G. Whittaker, A.R. Vandepeer, J.R. Brown, W.G. Power, A.W. Kelly, G.H. Schilling (and homestead), S.P. King, A.C. Hewton, G.A. Voight, L.B. Lamshed, G. Meier, E.M. Kitto, W.H. Taylor, H.R. Hosking, W.T. Harfield, R.R. Wilson.

Last page, page 60, has a line drawing of the Sunshine Smithy at Drummartin in 1884, and a line drawing of the Sunshine Harvester Works 1935.

Physical Description

Pocket sized booklet. Cover is a mock-leather in texture and colour. Stapled, 60 pages with line drawings and photographs. Each page has a testimonial from farmers, with dates, locations, and photographs.

Title

'TESTIMONIALS ... AUTO HEADER PIONEERS'

More Information