Two of the original five workshop bays of the Ardrossan factory of the Smith brothers who made stump jump ploughs here from 1876
Ardrossan -Home of the Stump Jump Plough.
This largest town on Yorke Peninsula was surveyed in 1870 with the town founded in 1874. It was named after a Scottish town by our Scottish governor. Town growth was helped by the invention of the Stump Jump Plough- essential for limestone paddocks and former Mallee bush paddocks- in the area. Richard Smith of Arthurton invented this in 1876 and was legally forced to share his invention with his brother Clarence who established two workshops and marketed the product. They set up in Ardrossan and the stump jump plough was sold across SA and interstate too. At its peak the factory had five sections, employed around 70 men, and produced 14 ploughs a week. It finally closed in the 1920s and the factory is now the local museum. At almost the same time (1877) George Whittaker of Dowlingville near Ardrossan also patented a three furrow stump jump plough. He produced them on his farm and sold them until the early 1880s when the Smith brothers clearly had the market sewn up. He claims to have made the first two and three furrow stump jump ploughs just ahead of Richard Smith. Apart from ploughs the town grew because of its jetty which opened in 1876, and was extended in 1880 and again in 1883. Ardrossan since the 1950s has primarily been a rural service centre and grain port.
Two of the original five workshop bays of the Ardrossan factory of the Smith brothers who made stump jump ploughs here from 1876
Ardrossan -Home of the Stump Jump Plough.
This largest town on Yorke Peninsula was surveyed in 1870 with the town founded in 1874. It was named after a Scottish town by our Scottish governor. Town growth was helped by the invention of the Stump Jump Plough- essential for limestone paddocks and former Mallee bush paddocks- in the area. Richard Smith of Arthurton invented this in 1876 and was legally forced to share his invention with his brother Clarence who established two workshops and marketed the product. They set up in Ardrossan and the stump jump plough was sold across SA and interstate too. At its peak the factory had five sections, employed around 70 men, and produced 14 ploughs a week. It finally closed in the 1920s and the factory is now the local museum. At almost the same time (1877) George Whittaker of Dowlingville near Ardrossan also patented a three furrow stump jump plough. He produced them on his farm and sold them until the early 1880s when the Smith brothers clearly had the market sewn up. He claims to have made the first two and three furrow stump jump ploughs just ahead of Richard Smith. Apart from ploughs the town grew because of its jetty which opened in 1876, and was extended in 1880 and again in 1883. Ardrossan since the 1950s has primarily been a rural service centre and grain port.