Summary
A manual cylinder lawn mower with 4 blades and cutting width of 12 inches, made by Henley Lawn Mower Co. of Richmond, Indiana, U.S.A. circa 1925.
The lawn mower was purchased and used by Claude Fankhauser (1895-1996) at his home in the Melbourne suburb of Blackburn during 1920s -1930s. In 1915 Claude enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and, after surviving the battle at Gallipoli, was sent to France where he received a facial injury at Pozieres on 27 July 1916 which resulted in blindness at the age of 21 years. He married a nursing aide from St Dunstan's, a specialist blind hospital in England where he had returned for treatment, but was left widowed in 1926 with a four-year-old son, Frank. Claude was a keen gardener and his back-yard had a lawn, fruit trees, a vegetable garden and a poultry shed. He mowed his lawns himself, tying a string line to a stake as a guide, until his son Frank was old enough to do the mowing.
Physical Description
Steel construction. Four spirally-mounted, self-sharpening blades (crucible steel) supported by three decorative brackets on a shaft. Two metal wheels with perpendicular grooves on surface. Rectangular, wooden handle with black inscription and decorative motifs. Turned wooden hand grips.
More Information
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Donation from Mr Frank Fankhauser, 16 Aug 2013
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Place & Date Manufactured
Indiana, United States of America, circa 1925
Used by Claude then his son Frank. -
User
Lance Corporal Claude A. Fankhauser - Australian Imperial Force (AIF), Blackburn, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, circa 1925-1940
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Inscriptions
On handle: 'NEW HENLEY'
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Overall Dimensions
370 (Length), 450 (Width), 1340 (Height)
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References
Tony Stephens & Steven Siewert, The Last Anzacs, Allen & Kemsley, Sydney Monograph by the Rev. L.D. Faulkner, 'Lance Corporal C.A. Fankhauser, 100 Years - 6th July 1995' (Faulkner was son of one of Claude's housekeeps and lived as a child with him)
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Keywords
Lawn Mowers, Gardening Equipment, World War I, 1914-1918, Returned Soldiers, Blindness, Battle of the Somme (Somme Offensive), 1916