NP1718.mp3

I'm going to talk to you today about Daniel Harvey, whom some of you may know was a manufacturer of farm implements in Box Hill. He became known as the father of power farming in Australia. Now, I'll explain that later on, how that comes about. I became interested in doing a study of Daniel Harvey after I'd been on a Box Hill Cemetery Walk, which was led by Mr. Jack MacLean from the Vauxhall Historical Society.

Now I asked Jack about Daniel Harvey's grave, but he and it wasn't on the list, but he didn't know where it was. And, I was able to tell him, because I'd discovered it wandering around near my own parents' grave. Anyway, he said, Oh, well, you can't have everybody on it. But I thought Daniel Harvey was rather important, more important than a lot of the people that he had on. So I don't know whether he had, since put it on the list or not, but that was how I came to, be interested in it.

I talked to my brother-in-law, Stan Finger, about this, because Daniel Harvey was his uncle, and, Stan's mother and Mrs. Harvey were sisters. Now the Harveys and the Fingers had holiday homes together at Seaford, where we all had lots of lovely summer holidays. And that was how I got to know Daniel Harvey. But little did I know in those days how important and clever a man he was.

You know, and it's only of latter years that I realise what a lot of good work he did do. Anyway, I I I actually went to Box Hill and did my first very nervous talk on Daniel Harvey. And so and I've been to Templestowe, Doncaster and Templestowe. They asked me after Box Hill. And, and that was was really a lovely night.

We had a very enjoyable night because a lot of those men knew had known him or knew of him, them all being orchardists themselves. And and they just all sat there and talked, and they didn't seem to want to go home. So it was a very enjoyable evening. Anyway, when I I said to my brother-in-law, Stan, about this, and and he just loved to reminisce. You know, he was one of those people that could just talk about it all.

So I wrote it all down, and, which is just as well I did because he died a bit later. And then one of my neighbours, and and dog and kids neighbour, Archie Kennedy, he had worked for Harvey's for 15 years. So I asked him if he could tell me anything about it, and he was able to give me a bit of information. So I struggled on because I couldn't find anybody else that seemed to know anything. And, I I I just kept on plugging along.

It took a long time. Anyway, one day we went as our society over to Schramm's Cottage, And there I met a girl called Sue Johns, whom I had already known through the Cornish Association. Because we had this interest that my name was John's too, so we were following the same name. And then that day that I met her over there, she told me that she was doing Warren as well, which of course seemed rather funny to be doing both the names. Anyway, she said it was her actually that got me to go to Boxhall.

She said, why don't you come and talk to us about Daniel Harvey? So, so that's what I did. And then when Templestowe heard about it, they asked me to go there too. So that was how that all came about. And of course, your your committee have done the same thing, and that's why I'm here, you know, for better or worse, I'm I'm here.

Anyway, to tell you about Daniel Daniel Hervey was born at Marsia in the Mallee on 8th August, 1876 Now I had no idea where Marsia was until my daughter and her husband took me to board, Because I had discovered that my great grandmother had had property at board. And on the way to board, we went through Mysia. So, you know, it's funny isn't it how these things work out? Anyway, Daniel's father was a farmer and he had 11 sons. Daniel was the 5th son.

And he must have had an early interest in farming and farm implements. So of course he had to do something, having already 4 other brothers working on the farm. He had to turn to something. So he trained as a blacksmith. And he served his time as an apprentice at Currumbura.

When he came to Melbourne, he worked for a Mr. Kurt Hillman at Doncaster, the main fruit growing centre of Victoria. And later, he managed the business when Mr. Hillman died. This business was located opposite the Doncaster Hotel, on the corner of Wetherby and Doncaster Roads, where Dan became the local blacksmith and farrier.

He resigned when Mrs. Hillman remarried, and he went to work for HV Mackie, Sunshine Harvesters at Sunshine. Now he was living at Doncaster, and he had to ride a bike to Box Hill, get the steam train to Sunshine, and to be there by half past 7 every morning. So it was a big day. He later began to forge implements for the orators who were not too keen to venture into this kind of work themselves.

He persevered and moved to Union Road, Templestowe, where he set up in business. It was here that he met Maud Adams, whose father, Mark Adams, was a carpenter in the Templestowe area. They were married, and they had 2 sons. 1 who died at an early age, and the other one, Hugh, later came into the business. At the Union Road site, Daniel, with the help of his wife and friends, became well known for his orchard implements.

Then in 1911, he moved his business to Box Hill. And he set up a foundry in Whitehorse Road, on the site where Lee Karnes, the Funeral Palace is there. I was standing there, it was. Yes, you you remember. Well, anybody of Ted's age, at 15 box 2, would remember.

They were ones who hit the panther. Well, you come up here and give us a talk. Anyway, the family lived opposite the the factory in Whitehorse Road. One block west of Graham Place, which is now where there's a unit called Gowan Lee. There.

And, there was an empty block on the corner that they used to store all the steel and implements. On the factory side was the factory side was on the Linsley Street corner. There was the office and then the foundry. And behind the offices were the blacksmiths' forges, and the steel storage racks, and the guillotines for cutting the steel, and the assembly section for cultivators, and the sections that made dehydrators. Now, Mr Archie Kennedy was able to tell me all this in detail, so I hope you can understand that.

Behind the factory, there was the storage and graded department, which was 2 story. And they had the bottom floor for cutting up the timber for the graders, and the top floor for assembling them. Designed by Dan, the grovers were simple affairs where the apples ran along the top and gradually fell into the right size size openings, graduating from small to large. If you've been to the Petty Antique Orchard, they had one set up in the shed there, the the real old Tom Grader. I don't know whether it's still there, but it was when I was there.

And and they're a far cry from the sophisticated machines that adorn the sheds of today. And the apple sits up, and it has its photo taken, and it's told which one to go into. I'm sure Daniel Harvey would have been very interested in what what is now. Yes. And also over there, they've got some Harvey ploughs that are sitting around the sheds too, that are quite interesting.

One of Dan's graders was bought by my brother-in-law Stan Finger, who used it in his orchard at Wantoona. After he retired, the grader went up to his son, Graham's orchard at Gruyere, where it was used for a number of years. It became too small for Graeme, who's now got one of these newfangled things. And it was passed on to a friend, But its whereabouts is not known. It stood up to a lot of hard work and was very successful in grading the apples.

These machines pay for themselves in time saved. Daniel Harvey was keen to extend his business and became interested in making frames for drawing fruit in the Mildura area, and for the tobacco industry. He had a permanent stand at the Royal Show, where he's every year he had his inventions on show, and the farmers could go and and look at them, and admire them, and buy them, whatever. Now, I've got a list of of the implements here, which didn't make very much sense to me at the time, although I'd heard Stan talk about them. But I was interested when Ted read out about the the spring tine tauterator which is a real Yeah.

Yes. Well, there's the list of there's disc plow, tractor plow, road plow, moldboard plow, tractor cultivators, tandem discs, drag harrows, grape and berry hoes, citrus spring tooth cultivators, reversible vine plough, petty disc stripping plough, two way reversible disc cultivators, the patent Power Lift being the one that he got his title from, single farrow ploughs. So you can see there was a lot of time went into trying to make things easier for the farmers. Farmers of all kinds, not only orchardists, you know, as he branched out. Dan liked nothing better than to have somebody bring something to him with an idea, you know, come and say, I've got this idea.

And then he'd make it up, and then he'd hand it on to either Stan or his father to try it out. His first patent, I believe, was a low slung, sledge type springtime cultivator. Now there's one out there if you want to go and have a look at it. Which had a single straight disc cultivator at the front and an adjustable cultivator at the back. Excuse me, tripping, but it's difficult to say all those words.

It could be said to run the plough under the branches of the tree, right up to the butt of the tree, while the horse and the and the driver walked down the middle of the furrows. So that sort of went in like that. Horse drawn implements were built and sold until after the World War 2, when tractors appeared on the Australian market. Dan then developed the patent and patent the patent plant, the 1st power lift tractor plow. And that was where he got his title for power farming.

But apparently, until then they had to use 2 men to lift the the plow and and but with this power lifter, they pressed the button. Not like our computers, I shouldn't think. But, at least it made it a bit easier for them. In 1945, it was Dan's intention to relocate his business to Nunawading. Ian was interested in this.

Between Streetvale Road. Yep. That's right. Approximately 10 years later, a new factory was built at 286 to 292 Whitehorse Road, Nunawading. Now, Kmart had a distribution centre there, and now I believe, Campbell's Cash and Carry is there.

Oh, my goodness. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

So, and then the the Greater Manufacturing Division was located a few doors back from Springvale Road. Now that was 55. But in 1962, Daniel Harvey Limited was taken over by Gerard Australasia Manufacturing from West Footscray. They were next taken over by Hawwood Bagshaw, an Adelaide firm, which eventually folded in 1972. The industry had become more and more sophisticated, and so the Harvey implements became obsolete.

However, there's still a number of small packing sheds using Harvey products. I believe that was last year I was told that, so I suppose that's right. There was a great sense of loyalty among the employees. Some travelling by train as far away as Essendon, and Northcote, and Brunswick. These were days of early morning start, and late finish.

Long hours pre the 40 hour week. I've I've got a couple of cuttings here that I've in reference to the 40 hour week, which I think is rather interesting. Sorry, I better put my glasses on. It was reported in the in the reporter, which was the local paper. A well attended meeting of employers of Daniel Harvey Limited was held on Thursday 28th March 1946.

They adopted the following resolution, that this meeting endorses the demands of the Trade Union Movement for a 40 hour week, 1 pound increase in the basic wage, and abolition abolition of all the taxation on income less than 300 pound. And that all present, pledged themselves to support the demonstration on the EAVA 40 hour hearing. Now the speaker was mister JC Harris Smith. No, we're not. Not not our mister Harris Smith.

So that Well, then the next week, there was another letter in the paper from mister b a Smith, who was the works manager. And he's telling them the paper that it was all wrong. That it wasn't as they, reported it. That it was the the communists that were trying to take over. And that that there was no resolution adopted.

But that that they were in favor of the granting the one pound a week increase, and the adoption of the 40 hour week. But preferred to obtain the same through arbitration court rather than follow the method of direct action by the communists. So that that's rather interesting, isn't it? Yeah. That's right.

Why don't I do everything? Yeah. Daniel Harvey was a member of Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Box Hill. Now I went there thinking I was going going to get some, information about him. And they didn't have anything about him at all.

I was very disappointed. And I said to the man, where's your archives? And he said, I haven't got one. So I thought, well, it was about time they did have. Because he he was, you know, he was a a a very good Christian church man, and I'm sure he did a lot for the church.

But there was just no recognition of it, which was was a pity. Daniel died on the 22nd December 1960. And is buried buried in the Bauxhall Cemetery. His grave is in the southwest corner, 13 rows up the main track from the gate on the left. Grave number 712, Romantathic section.

The front of the gravestone has a brass plaque with this inscription, Daniel Harvey of Box Hill, the father of power farming in Australia. What a lovely tribute. He was obviously well known throughout Australia. I've got a photograph here of the grave, which you can have a look at afterwards. But it it's it's just a small plaque on on the bottom there, but Who?

Not really quite nice. Yes. Do you know who put it on, Francesca? Well, I imagine his son did. Wasn't it the sum of society?

It doesn't say. And of course, I mean, although I knew Hugh quite well, he's been dead for quite a few years now. So it's all too late to try and find out these things. Yes. I've also got a bit more here.

After, you know, after trying to find out all this information and not being able to get any, after I got my act together and got it all printed up, then it all started to come out of the woodwork. That happens. So I had this sent to me from one of Dan's nieces. And it had been written out by his son, Hugh. So it it does, it's much the same as as what I've written, but I thought you might like to hear it written by the the Sun himself.

Daniel Harvey was born in Marsia via board. So if I'd had this I'd have known that, wouldn't I? On in, the 8th August, 1876. The 5th son of Malachi and Elizabeth Harvey, who were farmers and had a family of 11 sons. Daniel, along with his brothers, walked 7 miles to and from school each day to receive their education, as well as helping with the farm duties.

They had long days when they were quite young. He loved farm life but because he had 4 older brothers working on the farm, he decided to learn a trade. His preference was for a blacksmith and wheelwright. His father had him indentured to a local blacksmith where he served his time. To increase his knowledge, he worked in Currumbura, South Gippsland, where he gained valuable experience.

His next dog took him to work for Mr Kurt Kurt Hillman in his blacksmith shop on the corner of Doncaster and Weatherly Wetherby Road, Doncaster. Mr Hillman built wagons, lorries and small horse drawn single farrow ploughs. Daniel worked for him for some years until Mr. Hillman died. He then managed the business for Mrs.

Hillman until she remarried. Daniel married mister Missus Hillman's sister, Maud, and the daughter of Mark and Emily Adams of Templestowe, a well respected family. He then took up a position with H. V. Mackie, Harvester Sunshine Works.

He rode his bike from Doncaster to Box Hill to catch a steam train to get him to work in time to start at 7:30. In those days, he worked a 48 hour, 5 and a half day week. He always said that in winter, he never saw his home in daylight until the weekends. He worked there until many of the local fruit fruit growers wanted him to start his own business, as he had developed a single furrow shifting handle shifting head mobile plough, as it was called, which was a first in the industry. Fruit trees are planted in rows 18 20 feet apart.

And when using a set or fixed plow, it is necessary to plow as close to the butt as possible, and then to cross plow the other way. This left a section around the tree that that had to be dug round by hand. So the shifting handle plough worked right up to the butt of the tree, and it cut down time and cost. Daniel started his own business with the help of his wife and many wonderful friends, who loaded him with repair work on ploughs, wagons, horse shoeing, etcetera. In fact, he started with 1 week's wages and a lot of courage.

It was not unusual for him to work a 16 hour day, 6 days a week. His business was in Union Street, Templestowe, almost to Foot Street. The house he took to his wife took his wife to was on the corner of Parker and Union Street, and is still there today. It wasn't long before he built other orchard implements, including his first patent, a low slung, sledge type, spring type, spring time cultivator. Which had a single straight disc colter at the front and an adjustable colter at the rear, which could be set up to run the machine under the branches of the tree and closer to the butt of the tree.

The business progressed and it was necessary to find larger premises. So land was purchased at the corner of Whitehorse and Lindsley Street, Box Hill, where a small factory was built. He moved there in 1911, the same year as his son was born. Horse drawn implements were bought and sold to Orchard's throughout Australia until after the 2nd World War when the tractor appeared. But it was some time before the Orchardes could see the advantage as it still needed 2 men to operate the tractor and the plow.

And this is where the the Power Lift one came in. He then invented the 1st Power Lift tractor in Australia. And the lifts were most effective. And the machines were built for broadacre farming as well as orchids. A full range of 3 point linkage implements were developed for the orchard.

Now, it's just a list of all those that I told you before, so I won't go through that again. Harvey drawn offset and wheeled offset cultivators for orchard, broadacre, light and heavy scrub cultivators. These were all world firsts. So, you know, he was quite a clever man. Daniel Harvey developed other equipment, mostly for the fruit industry.

Including fruit packing equipment, fruit sorting and grating for apples. For apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, tomatoes, potatoes, citrus gravers, washing and waxing machines, dehydrators for drying fruit such as raisins or tongs and currants, etcetera. He had a wide range of things. Daniel Harvey developed other equipment, mostly for the fruit industry, including fruit packing house equipment. Which oh, that's what I've just read.

Daniel Harvey was a forward thinking man, His great desire was to make things easier and more productive for the man on the land. This story can be seen in Hazel Poulter's book, The Folk History of Templestowe. As I supplied her with the information, that's Dulce Crouch saying that, not me. So that that that's all I can tell you. But the the there's a few photographs here.

Okay. These will bring back memories to some of us. That one's not the best. Yes. This one I imagine must be the the power lift with the track.

They called the mermaid. The mermaid, did they? Yeah. We called the membrane before. Alright.

Yeah. And this is a a spray pump, for the look of it. Okay. That's right. That's right the trees with, did they?

Yes. Now this is this is an indenture. Some somebody being apprenticed. And it's it's it's got it all set out there. Alright.

Yeah. And and that Yeah. Yeah. It's illegal. Yes.

This is a a list of the owners and the and the, employees. A list of them in, 1932 to 39. So somebody might like to look through that and see. You know? Yes.

Yes. No. Well, I I I get I'm I'm giving you a a thing with it and I've given them something from me, but there's somebody said you'd end it in. Yeah. So that's Oh, thank you.

That's for you. Frances has got that all bound, and they're future reference if anyone comes wanting to know more about Daniel Harvey. Oh, thank you. Oh, thank you. Oh, oh, and this is this is the this is the Daniel Harvey's name was certainly very well known in the, orcharding and, farm world.

No doubt about that. Springtime orchard cultivator is a Harvey. Oh, good. It's got Harvey's name on the rear disc. That's all of it.

And we presume it was made in Australia. It's made by Harvey's. Well, there you are. It was made either Box Hill, Temple Stow or Oh, it'd be Box Hill. Yeah.

Both both both of those. Yeah. Probably worked with him or Dan. Interesting. Yes.

Well, I'll ask you, Barbara, is she with the deck princess on every house? Awesome. Look, this is very impressive. A really interesting talk and obviously Daniel Harvey was very important in Australia's history, in all of Australia's history. Not only our our local people.

No. That's true. We thank you for that, friends. Oh, thank you. Oh, thank you very much.