Historical information

William McKay came to Australia in 1851 with three sons and four daughters. He selected land at Drummartin and the family farmed extensively. Williams grandson, Hugh Victor, was only sixteen and helping his father with the wheat harvest, when he had the idea to make a machine that would both strip and winnow the wheat, thus saving time and effort. His first machine was ready by February 1884. Hugh Victor subsequently started a small factory in Ballarat before moving to the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine. Thus became what is known as the Sunshine combine harvester.

Physical description

Bendigo Advertiser from Saturday May 9, 1970. The article is titled: "McKay of Drummartin, he began a new era for the world". Several photographs complement the article.