Tumblebug Rotary Scraper in Australia?

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

Just wondering if Australia had it's own version of American's Tumblebug Rotary Scraper shown operating in this YouTube clip; accessed 31st March 2021 from Tumblebug Rotary Scraper Moving Dirt - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh54vkmNPP4) ?

Kind regards
Lionel

[Tote]

Yep, we've got a couple of horse drawn ones lying around, also called tumbling tommies

Regards,
Tote

[Lionelgee]

Hello Tote,

Thank you for the information about Tumbling Tommy. Using that name I just found a link to an Australian made and patented version... accessed 31st March 2021 from, TUMBLING TOMMY (SCOOP); W. Lovelock & Co. Pty. Ltd.; T-169-0 on eHive (https://ehive.com/collections/5386/objects/400152/tumbling-tommy-scoop).

Further information found reveals that it was an Australian invention ... by Sir Samuel McCaughey, a pastoralist in New South Wales; accessed 31st March 2021 from, T is for Tumbling Tommy - Society for One-Place Studies (https://www.one-place-studies.org/t-is-for-2017)

Kind regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Hello Tote and All,

I started off watching the Tumbling Tommy (Tumblebug) in action via a YouTube clip by Squatch253 of a Farmall H Pulling Tumblebug Scraper - accessed 31st March 2021 from, Farmall H Pulling Tumblebug Scraper - Field Land Clearing Project Part 3: Givin' It "H"!!! - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur828WIc__M&t=378s) at the 6:18 minute mark.

I have been following Squatch Junior and Senior rebuilding Caterpillar D2 #5J1113​ and the rebuild of a Farmall M. Both Junior and Senior are qualified mechanics. They are a very informative pair and I have spent lots of hours watching their channel's content.

Kind regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

What is incredible is the amount of earth a Tumbling Tommy and a couple of horses could shift. In one of the Australian history links mentioned earlier there is a photograph taken at Jericho in Queensland captured in 1910. The photo shows a water storage dam being constructed. The photograph is accessed 31st of March 2021 from, Page Not Found - Society for One-Place Studies (https://www.one-place-studies.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/TumblingTommy_ed1.gif)

My paternal grandfather started off with the local Shire at the age of 13. He worked his way up to operating a horse drawn grader. This progressed right up to him operating the largest Caterpillar graders that were available until his retirement.

Kind regards
Lionel

[Tote]

This dam just south of Lyndhust NSW was reputedly formed with horses and tumbling tommies (or so I was told as a kid)
169944

Linky to Google maps streetview Google Maps (https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.670717,148.9832085,3a,75y,140.28h,80.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sI7GoOJHBpODWdxIXYI8SCg!2e0!7i1 6384!8i8192)


Regards,
Tote