Historical information

Saw Bench - New Record Saw Bench
Timber framed with steel wheels, belt driven saw blade powered by a Rosbery internal combustion engine.

The Rosebery Engine
No C28437
R.P.M 800
H.P. 6
Manufactured By Westinghouse Rosebery Pty.Ltd. Sydney

Rosebery Engine Works Ltd began as the engine and pump manufacturing division of Buzacott & Company, and in 1923 became an incorporated company. In 1935, Westinghouse gave Rosebery Engine Works the right to manufacture and sell nearly all Westinghouse products. The name of the company then changed to Westinghouse Rosebery Ltd

From the late nineteenth century, petrol engines gradually supplanted steam engines for running a wide range of machines, and in turn petrol engines were largely supplanted by electric motors.

The Champion was a successful small petrol engine made by the large Sydney company, Westinghouse Rosebery, based on the American-designed Fuller and Johnson engine.
With hopper cooling and a fuel tank between the skids, and weighing only 240 pounds (109 kg), it was easy to mount on wheeled transport, making the Champion a self-contained mobile source of power. Engines of this type were used in rural areas for driving chaff cutters, small saw benches, pumps and orchard sprayers. These engines were also commonly used in both rural and urban areas for powering concrete mixers.

Both Westinghouse Rosebery in NSW and Toowoomba Foundry in Queensland made these engines in large quantities, beginning in the 1920s when tariff protection made local manufacturing viable. The production of small petrol engines continued in Australia until the 1970s, when reduced tariff protection led to increased competition from cheaper imported engines.



Significance

Historic - Industrial Timber working - belt driven saw blade powered by a Rosbery internal combustion engine.

Physical description

Timber framed with steel wheels, belt driven saw blade powered by a Rosbery internal combustion engine.

Inscriptions & markings

The Rosebery Engine
No c28437
R.P.M 800
H.P. 6
Manufactured By Westinghouse Rosebery Pty.ltd. Sydney