POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

International auto buggy model D

Object No. B1135

Motoring was still in its infancy when this International auto buggy was manufactured in 1910 by the US farm machinery manufacturer, the International Harvester Company (I.H.C.) of America Incorp., at Akron, Ohio. The most striking thing about this car is its tall wheels fitted with solid rubber tyres, which gave this type of vehicle the name "high wheeler". Essentially, the car is a standard horse-drawn buggy modified and equipped with a simple motor and transmission. At the time, eighteen manufacturers in America were making similar high wheeler auto buggies including Schacht, Holsman, Fuller, McIntyre, Haines & Grut, and Galloway, although the International Harvester Co. models appear to have been the most popular in Australia. Before the First World War few people in Australia knew how to drive cars before they bought them, and the International Harvester Company sent out an "expert" for a week with every auto buggy purchased to teach them. Farmers were apparently the worst pupils as they expected a car to behave like a horse: to stay on course when directed and to steer around obstacles in its path. In Australia in the first decade of the twentieth century, while other cars were described as toys for the rich, "used for pleasure and not for profit", the International auto buggy was promoted as being a useful vehicle for station owners, farmers, doctors, and town and country salesmen. It was said to be the cheapest automobile in Australia, one third the cost of a conventional car. It required much less maintenance, had durable solid rubber tyres rather than troublesome pneumatic ones, and did not need a chauffeur. Apparently, the International's practical no-nonsense design appealed to Australian farmers as they were easy to repair and could negotiate rough, muddy and rutted country roads which would clog the small wheels of ordinary cars. The high wheels provided good ground clearance of 14½ inches (36.8 cm) to easily cross paddocks and a more comfortable ride compared to the shaking and discomfort experienced driving at 15 to 20 mph (24.1 kph to 32.2 kph) on bad roads in the expensive conventional cars of the period. At 1 penny per mile for fuel, it was claimed that the International auto buggy was much cheaper to run than horses, could cover twice the distance, and that the rear seat could be removed to allow it to carry up to 800 pounds (362.9 kg) of supplies and equipment. In 1909 car ownership in Australia is thought to have been one in every one thousand people, yet with such persuasive advertising it is not surprising that in the months of March and April 1910, a total of 144 International auto buggies were sold in Australia. This model cost 179 pounds ($358) if paid in cash. A considerable number of the vehicles were sold in South Australia, where they were especially popular north of Port Augusta. However, the car was outdated in design even before it had arrived here in 1909. Production of the high wheeler auto buggies at I.H.C. finished in 1911, and its conventional touring and roadster cars, introduced in 1910, did not sell well and were not manufactured after that year. From then on the firm concentrated on making auto wagons, called motor trucks from 1912, which continued in conventional and high wheeler styles until 1916. It wasn't long before Australian farmers, doctors, tradesmen and clergymen were wooed by the famous Model T Ford, of which 250,000 were sold in this country from 1909. According to a 1991 register of International auto buggies, it is thought that about 25 survive. "Antique Automobile", Vol. 27, No. 2. "The High Wheeler Register", Warrnambool, Victoria, August, 1991. "The 'I.H.C.' Auto Buggy", in "The Australian Hub", 15 September, 1909, p.11. Simpson, Margaret. "On the Move: a history of transport in Australia", Powerhouse Publishing, Sydney, 2005. Margaret Simpson Curator, Science & Industry June 2008