Victa two-stroke rotary mower
Cortacésped rotativo de dos tiempos (Victa)
- Date
- 1952 · confidence high
- Place
- Concord, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Credited to
- Mervyn Victor Richardson
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A mower with a horizontal blade spinning at high speed driven by a light, cheap two-stroke engine. Richardson developed it in his garage and launched it as the Victa in 1952.
There were rotary mowers earlier, in the US and UK; Victa's own feature was the small two-stroke engine and the rotating blade at an affordable cost. The title of 'first' is disputed.
What it led to
- petrol rotary lawn mowers worldwide
- a mass market for suburban gardening
- the Victa company, an Australian leader