Moffat-Virtue stationary petrol engine
Object No. 99/33/1
This is a typical example of the small petrol engines that performed many duties on farms and in factories in the mid twentieth century. On many farms, they replaced windmills as the power source for water pumping, because they were cheaper to buy and more convenient to maintain than windmills. The engine was made in Sydney by a company whose products, including windmills and shearing machinery, were well known in rural NSW. In 1911 all the entrants in the first sheep-shearing competition at the Sydney Royal Easter Show chose to use the company's machines. By 1914 Moffat-Virtue was making a range of agricultural machinery and had become a household name in rural Australia. It later also made a range of domestic appliances. The engine was purchased in 1965 to provide back-up power to a small Sydney factory, but it was rarely needed. During the 1950s, electricity demand in NSW had grown rapidly and its supply had been prone to frequent interruption, but this situation eased during the 1960s as new hydro-electric and thermal power stations came on line. Debbie Rudder, Curator, 2009
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Summary
Object Statement
Petrol engine, vertical stationary four stroke, steel / cast iron, Moffat-Virtue Ltd, Rosebery, New South Wales, Australia, 1945-1950.
Physical Description
Petrol engine, vertical stationary four stroke, steel / cast iron, Moffat-Virtue Ltd, Rosebery, NSW, Australia, 1945-1950. This Type V3 water-cooled engine has a single cylinder, with 75 mm bore, and two flywheels. It develops 2.25 horsepower at 1,000 rpm. It is contained within a rectangular box-like shell with a bolted-on cylinder head. To the rear of the engine is a pipe angled upwards to connect to the (missing) hose through which cooling water would flow to the vertical water tank located behind the engine. Another pipe connection to the cooling water hose is located lower down at the rear of the engine. An exhaust muffler also protrudes from the rear of the engine. The petrol tank is located in front of the engine, and the air intake and carburettor are on top of the tank. The governor is under the petrol tank, and the magneto is on the right hand side of the engine. A starting handle protrudes from the left hand side of the crankshaft, whilst a drive pulley is fixed to the crankshaft on the right hand side. Petrol is supplied to the engine through a so-called standard carburettor: it is drawn up, by the inlet air flow, directly from the petrol tank. A butterfly throttle valve controlled by the engine governor regulates the supply of air to the engine. A screw-down needle valve, located at the top of the air intake, controls the mixture strength. A push-button choke valve, at the front of the air intake, is used for cold starting. Spark ignition is achieved through a high tension rotary magneto. The speed of the engine is controlled by a spring-loaded centrifugal governor, and the speed is set by means of an adjusting screw to the left of the governor casing. Maximum power is achieved at a speed of 1,000 rpm, and the normal speed range is from 750 rpm to 1,050 rpm. Lubrication of the engine is achieved via the splash and oil vapour thrown up by a scoop on the bottom of the connecting rod. The engine and petrol tank are painted green, and the maker's plate is red. The galvanised cooling-water tank bears the outline of a face and the words 'Lysaght / Queens Head Australia'. All parts are bolted on to a base made of two railway sleepers.
DIMENSIONS
Height
1000 mm
Depth
780 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
The engine was manufactured by Moffat-Virtue Ltd at Epsom Road, Rosebery, NSW, probably soon after World War 2. John Moffat was born in Newmilns, Scotland, in 1841 and migrated to Queensland in 1862. He became a mining and industrial entrepreneur and developed an interest in shearing machines. William Wright Virtue was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1863. He studied at the Glasgow Mechanics Institution from 1875 to 1878 and became a mechanical engineer. Probably due to family associations with Moffat, he migrated to Queensland in 1890 and moved in the following year to the Sydney suburb of Burwood. Virtue devised several shearing machine improvements between 1891 and 1894, and he and Moffat took out joint patents. By 1893 Virtue was Sydney co-director and manager of the Moffat-Virtue Sheep Shearing Machine Co. From 1908, following a capital-raising and diversification restructure, Virtue was general manager of Moffat-Virtue Ltd and the Federal Sheep Shearing Co, Sydney. Moffat retired to Cremorne, Sydney in 1912 and died in Toowoomba in 1918. Virtue retired as managing director of Moffat-Virtue in 1922; he retained a directorship, but returned to Scotland and died there in 1926. To power its sheep shearing machinery, the company first imported and sold Davey Paxman portable steam engines and Blackstone oil engines. It began making petrol engines in Sydney at 205 Clarence Street in 1920, moved production to 11-25 Palmer Street in 1929, and later moved to Rosebery. The company was taken over by Fire Fighting Enterprises Ltd in June 1966.
HISTORY
Notes
The engine was used for back-up power supply by Uniforms (VC Read) Pty Ltd of 104-106 Walker Street, North Sydney from 1965 to 1971. The company, started by the donor's father-in-law, Victor Carrington Read, was at the time run by her husband, Fred Read. The factory was at 104-106 Walker Street, North Sydney and employed between 20 and 25 machinists. The engine was used infrequently at the factory. From 1971 until 1999 it was kept in storage at the donor's home.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of the Read family
Acquisition Date
12 April 1999
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