Tools & tillage: a journal on the history of the implements of cultivation and other agricultural processes (1.1968/1971)

RIDGES AND FURROWS IN AUSTRALIA

211

Fig. 5. A one-share iron plough fitted with one wheel,
owned by G. A. W. Depledge, Encounter Bay. The
plough, of which the coulter is missing, was made in
Britain by Ransomes about 1855 and was brought to
South Australia when its owner emigrated. It bears
the letters Y. O. H. Photo Twidale, Feb. 1970.
Einschariger eiserner Pflug mit Stelzrad Besitzer: G. A.
W. Depledge, Encounter Bay. Der Pflug, dessen Sech
fehlt, wurde von Ransomes in England um 1855
hergestellt und nach Siidaustralien gebracht, als sein
Besitzer auswanderte. Er tragt die Aufschrift Y. O. H.
Fig. 6. Two-wheeled one-share plough made in Ade-
laide early in this century and owned by J. G. Schrie-
ver, Harrogate. Photo G. J. Forrest, Jan. 1969.
Einschariger Pflug mit Radvorgestell, hergestellt in
Adelaide zu Beginn dieses Jahrhunderts. Besitzer:
J. G. Schriever, Harrogate.
Fig. 7. Four-share stump-jump plough made in Ade-
laide about 1906 and owned by G. A. W. Depledge.
Photo Twidale, Feb. 1970.
'Vierschar-Rode-Pjlug, hergestellt in Adelaide um 1906.
Besitzer: G. A.W. Depledge.
meet the problems of the newly developed upland
and mallee areas the ‘'setplough', with no movable
parts, was gradually replaced by the stump-jump
plough. This was developed in 1867 (Kelly 29;
Wheelhouse 18-29) and was thereafter used vir-
tually everywhere in South Australia. On the stump-
jump plough the share and mouldboard are attach-
ed to a movable arm which is deflected and swings
backwards on contact with any obstacle in the
soil, thus avoiding the worst damage caused by
hitting such obstacles (fig. 4). Various means
were devised to force the share back into the soil
once the obstacle had been passed over.
All the early ploughs were swing ploughs, that
is they had no wheels; the depth and width of the
furrows they ploughed depended entirely on the
manipulations and efforts of the man between the
stilts (or plough shafts), though some ploughs

had a presser foot which enabled the depth of the
furrow to be regulated.
Then one-wheeled and two-wheeled ploughs,
or ‘fixed ploughs’, were introduced, the wheel
radius determining the depth of furrow. In the
two-wheeled variety the wheel that ran in the fur-
row was of greater radius than that which ran on
the as yet unploughed ground (fig. 5 and 6). Even-
tually imported ploughs with steel mouldboards
came into favour. The first two-share plough
was seen in the Mount Torrens district in the
Mount Lofty Ranges at a ploughing competition
in 1857 (Gray 48, 49) and later four- and six-
share ploughs were introduced (fig. 7).
Many of the early ploughs were imported or
were brought out by the immigrant farmers. The
one share iron plough shown in fig. 5 was made
about 1855 and was brought out from England
to South Australia about 1860. It was given to
the father of A. A. Depledge of Encounter Bay
when its owner moved to the Southeast of South
Australia. It is still in good condition and was
used for ploughing single furrows for drainage
improvement purposes as recently as 1950. It
was evidently made by Ransomes.8
Some ploughs made in Scotland are mentioned
in the literature and Hugh MacCullum’s father
used a swing plough with the name Avery on the
mouldboard (Gray 49). Some of the two-wheeled
ploughs in later use were made by the Ransomes
and Hornsby and still later the two-wheeled
Hornsby plough fitted with a long steel mould-
board was both effective and popular.9 Two
ploughs used to plough the wheat paddocks in-
side Wilpena Pound (see fig. 3) were made by the
Ransomes and Sims.
But many of the South Australian farmers, im-
patient of delays in the arrival of implements from
Britain, engaged local blacksmiths to make
ploughs for them. Sizeable industries engaged in
the manufacture of agricultural machinery devel-
oped in such country towns as Gawler, Mannum,
Quorn, Wilmington, Balaklava and Ardrossan
(Gibbs 182; Kelly 31-32). Most of these have now