A. H. McDonald & Co.~ Industrial Pioneers ~'Imperial Engine Works' - Melbourne, Australia 'BIG LIZZIE' THE GENTLE GIANT (1916) |
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Click on small images to see a larger view |
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Photo shows Lizzie, as she was in her heyday, complete with blacksmiths shop on the front deck. (Jack Gates) | |
| This enormous tractor, now
preserved at Redcliffs near Mildura, Victoria, was the brainchild of Frank Bottrill, the
inventor and, patentee of the ingenious Pedrail wheel system. A blacksmith by trade, the
idea came to Bottrill when he was working in the Broken Hill area, noting that wool had to
be carried by camel to Broken Hill from the outlying stations, crossing sandhills, bogs
and creekbeds so treacherous that even steam tractors could become inextricably bogged. He tried out his system on various tractors with some success, and in 1914 commenced work on his ultimate dream, the building of a very large tractor that could carry an enormous payload over any kind of rough, sandy or boggy terrain. He rented a yard in Richmond, not far from MeDonalds' works, and although he could manage all the blacksmithing work himself, he enlisted McDonalds' help to make castings and machine the essential transmission, steering, wheel and axle components, including roller bearings, claimed to be the first ever made in Australia. Big Lizzie was ready for the road in early 1916. Bottrill set out for Broken Hill but never got there. Delayed by mechanical problems along the way he reached Mildura late in 1917, but was unable to cross the Murray. He took on work carting wheat and other goods and clearing scrub. His big break came in 1920 with a contract to clear a large area of scrub near Redcliffs in preparation for the soldier settlement scheme. Later he took Lizzie to Glendinning for more clearing which ended in 1928 and. she was abandoned. She was rescued in 1971 by the Redcliffs Big Lizzie Preservation Committee who restored her and settled her in her final resting place.K.N McDonald has recently located the missing second trailer and this has now been sent to Mildura for restoration. Powered by a McDonald D type twin cylinder petrol engine producing 20 horsepower, the first EA model tractor was indeed a very basic machine. It did, however, have some surprising features such as dual ignition, (coil and magneto) and a transmission giving three forward speeds and one reverse. The cooling system was bulky and inefficient, using a water tower principle, the hot water being pumped from the engine to the top of the tower and dribbling down to the bottom receiving tank. To achieve cooling, the exhaust outlet was positioned at the top where it was supposed to create a draught by sucking cool air from holes in the side of the tower. The original tractor was supplied in 1909 to J.H.Dardel, Batesford near Geclong. It was overhauled for him in McDonald's workshop in 1912 so presumably it had a life of about 8 years. With modified cooling systems thirteen tractors of this model were produced to 1910. |
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Material
provided with the kind permission of KN McDonald. |
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