Belsize Wheel Nut, Belsize Motors Limited, Early twentieth century

Historical information

This wheel nut was found in a long abandoned car yard (Gino's) located in Maffra, Gippsland, and it belonged to a car from the Belsize Motorcar Company (England). A then local man, Frank Straw who found the wheel nut (in 1968) is the grandson of John Hughes. The latter did an apprenticeship as a coachbuilder with the Belsize Company of Manchester, England. He then emigrated (with his wife) to Australia in 1910 and settling in Maffra opened a coachbuilder's shop . He told his grandson that seven Belsize cars came to Australia and that one made its' way to Maffra where John Hughes worked on it at his shop. John Hughes).

Physical description

Old gold coloured Belsize Wheel Nut (metal) and mounted on a rectangular block of wood.

Inscriptions & markings

Wheel nut is inscribed as follows:
BELSIZE in middle of nut surrounded by four (one in each corner) decoration emblems (as seen in photo) surrounded by a gold circle. Around the outside of the circle are the words Belsize Motors Limited -an asterisk at the beginning and end of the company name. Outside the circle at the bottom is the word MANCHESTER. Around the edge of the top of the wheel nut are two gold line circles.

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