POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Notes

The sewing machine and case (Parts 1 and 4) were made by Pinnock Manufacturing Co, Elizabeth, South Australia. The foot pedal (Part 2) was made by Wernard, and the needles (Part 4) were made by the Singer Company, in Brazil. Pinnock claim to be the first company to produce wholly Australian sewing machines. They have sold imported machines in Australia since 1904, with the machines gradually becoming more and more 'Australian', until 1949, when even the electric motors that operated them were also produced here. This machine would have been made the Pinnock Manufacturing Co's first factory, which opened in 1957 and was located in the satellite city of Elizabeth, near Adelaide, South Australia. This machine was produced at Pinnock's Elizabeth factory, which began operation in 1957. The machine was acquired by the donor in 1962, when the previous owner left it behind on a property she purchased. The previous owner is believed to have owned the machine since at least 1960. "I have been servicing and repairing mechanical machines of this era, having seen a number of Wernard motors, and suggest that since the foot control is a Wernard, that the motor is also a Wernard. Wernard was a highly successful Australian company, started by Josef Wernard, of Austrian nationality and born in Vienna. He arrived here in the late 1920s. I am given to understand that the Wernard motor and controller was designed, tested and manufactured at 22-24 Railway Street Meadowbank NSW, now apparently taken over by mixed retail residential development. Wernard seems to have supplied many makers with electric motors and other components including Pinnock." (Roger Alder, 2022)