DaVince Tools Generated - University of Sydneynswaol.library.usyd.edu.au/data/pdfs/13074_ID_Gibson1988Laycock... · Natur-e and Scope of Wor-k ... Laycock Management 1889-1986 60

I I I I I I I I I I ,I I I ,I I I I I I I I

JOSEPH LAYCOCK and SON

BLACKSMITHS, ENGINEERS and MANUFACTURERS

.1889 - 1983.

A case study in industrial archaeology: The nature of a small industrial enterpris~ of the period

in a rural centre in New South Wales, and its transition from Blacksmithing to Ma~ufa~turing

by

,J. W. GIBSON

VOLUME 1. of 3.

Submitted in fulfillment of the ' requirements of the degree of Master of Arts

Department of Historical Archaeology October 1988

fsl J. t,.J. GI BSON 1988

University of Sydney

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

i

I John W. Gibson understand that if I am awarded a higher

degree for my thesis entitled Joseph Laycock and Son,

Blacksmiths, Engineers and Manufacturers 1889-1983 being

lodged herewith for examination, the thesis will be lodged

in the University library and be available immediately for

use by any person entitled to use the library and may be

read, photocopied or microfilmed by or on behalf of such a

person at the librarian's discretion. I understand that the

Librarian would require each user and recipient of a copy

of the thesis to undertake in writing to respect my rights

under the law relating to copyright.

Si 9 n ed If ...... ",. ............ 11 Cl A " .... et

J. W. Gibson

8300741.

Date .............................. ..


ii

ABSTRACT.

Joseph Laycock and Son was a small industrial

enterprise situated at 108-110 Seymour Street, Bathurst

(NSW). The enterprise commenced as a blacksmith's shop,

and during its history the owners progressively diversified

into engineering (machining), founding, welding and the

manufacture of bagged goods elevators and conveyors for the

agricultural industry. The advent of bulk grain handling

methods led to a downturn in demand for bag elevators and

they turned to manufacturing potato graders, but this was a

short-lived expansion. Production ceased in 1969 and the

firm turned to general machining and light engineering

until it closed in 1983.

The blacksmith's shop was initially owned by Mr.

Henry Anderson, who had emigrated from Liverpool, England,

during the New South Wales gold rush. In 1889 this shop was

purchased by Thomas Laycock who had emigrated to NSW with

his family from Durham, England, in 1884. Thomas expanded

the shop to introduce machining capacity to cope with the

repair of steam powered equipment. The business remained in

the Laycock family until the death of Thomas' great

grandson Joseph William Laycock in 1986.

The workshop was one of a number of buildings on

the site in Seymour Street. By 1875 a brick cottage had

been built by Henry Anderson which had been extended by

1889 and demolished in 1945. The blacksmith's shop was

built prior to Thomas Laycock's purchase of the business

from Henry Anderson in 1889. This building was a timber

post and beam structure, clad with hardwood slabs and

roofed in galvanised iron. It initially contained one brick

hearth forge. Laycocks extended the building when they

purchased the business in 1889. Later an office/store was

added to the rear of the building. The shop was

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

pl"ogressi vel y

genel~ated on

In 1,925 they

i i i

powered by steam, gas, DC electricity

site, and electricity from the town's supply.

built a large motor garage in front of the

bl~i ck

and

cottage. This was leased to a motor vehicle dealer,

as a second machinery and general I at:er uSf~d

engineering shop.

This study recognises clear stages in the growth

and ultimate decline of this faf!li}y enterpl~ise over" a

period of ninety four years. The initial stage was one of

growth and expansion of the primary blacksmithing function

from 1,889 to the turn of the century. Coincident with this

was an entreprenurial spirit on the part of Thomas Laycock

and his descendants who continued on the business. This was

reflected .in the diversification into machining, foundry

wOI~k and

tf~chrlol og:i, es

O)-:y-wel di ng '}

othel'''s in

manufacturing. The incorporation of new

sp:i. r" :i. t.

capi tal

into the enterprise in the form of

electric welding, and electric power before

the district was also a reflection of this

This spirit

e:.: pendi tur"e

This was evident in

conflicted with a curious lack of

to "modernise" in the post vJal~ per"iod.

the fact that the building was, in a

sense, untouched and the machinery well and truly out of

date compared to modern industry of the nineteen eighties.

This assured the archaeolqgical importance of recording

this enterprise for future generations, and also resulted

in the eventual decline and closure of the enterprise in

1983.

This study covers the history of the Laycock

family, the

work carried

archaeology

on by the

Laycock elevator.

of the structure, the growth and

firm and the manufacture of the


iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Sincere thanks are extended to my wife, Lesley,for typing

this manuscript, Ms. Jennie Hyde for typing appendices A-H,

and to the following colleagues who assisted with the

immense task of recording the site in 1985;

Artifact Recording

Company Records

Photographic Record

Theodolite Survey

Triangulation Survey

Mr. G. She~~sby, Mr. A. Spencer,

Mr. J. Spencer, Mr. P, Hyland

Dr. A. Cremin

Mr. P. DuCrest, Mr.

Mr. A. Spencer

R. Pengelly,

Mr. N. Frougas, Mr. G. Hinson

Mr. P. Chew, Mr. K. Holman,

Mr. J.Spencer.


v

CONTENTS

VOLUME 1.

1. INTRODUCTION

The Blacksmith

Foundr-ies

l"1achine Shops

Integr-ation and Diver-sification

2. THE LAY COCK FAI"1ILY

Family Backgr-ound

Emigr-ation

Henr-')" !~nder-son

The Laycock Family in Bathur-st

3. THE SITE, BUILDINGS and EQUIPI"1ENT

Site Location

Site Histor-y

Si te Gr:0ogr-aphy

Building's Histor-y

Building Ar-chaeology

Machiner-y and Equipment

The Acetylene Plant

Power- Sour-ces

Publications and Company Recor-ds

4. THE LAYCOCK ENTERPRISE

l"1anagement

Employees

Effect of "'Jar-

Natur-e and Scope of Wor-k

Financial Gr-owth

Page

1

2

7

11

11

14

14

17

18

19

27

28

28

33

34

40

47

52

55

56

58

59

61

63

66

71

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

i I I I

vi

Innovation and Expansion

Relationship with other Industries

George Fish and Company

5. THE LAYCOCK ELEVATOR

Need and Demand

Origin and Design

Manufacture

Sales and Competition

El evator SL\I~vey

Other Manufactured Products

Decline

6 CONCLl.JS I ON

GLOSSf~RY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDICES

PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD

Page

72

81

83

85

86

89

95

97

100

101

102

106

111

113

Volume 2

Volume -:r 0_'


Table 1.

Table 2.

Table 3.

Table 4.

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Page

Laycock Management 1889-1986 60

Employees 1920-1971 63

Early Elevator Patents 90

Summary of Elevator Survey Results 101


Fi gto\l'"°E~

Figure

Fi gUl'-e

Figure

Figure

Figure

FigLwe

Figure

Fi gl..u~e

Figure

Fi gtUHe

Figure

Fi guroe

Fi (Julroe

Fi gUI,ooe

Figul'"l::?

Figure

Figure

Fi gL\I~e

Figure

Figure

Fi gUl~e

Fi gUl~e

Figure

Figure

Fi gLtI~e

Figure

Fi gL\I~e ..

1. n

2u

::-::. .-

4.

5n , On

7.

8.

0 I •

10n

Uo.

12.

1.3"

1.4 •

1.5.

1.6.

1.7

18.

19.

20.

21.-

22. ,..,~ ..:..._1 Cl

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

viii

L.IST OF FIGURES

Blacksmiths vs Population of Bathurst

Anderson's Blacksmith Shop

Anderson's Blacksmith Shop, 1889

Home of Cyril L.aycock

J.C. L.aycock and J.W. Laycock

Location of Laycock's in Bathurst

Division of Section 85, 1833

Subdivision of Allotments, 1880

Subdivision of Anderson's Property

View of Site, 1985

Portion of the Laycock cottage and Shop

The Motor Garage, circa

Forge at Brigalong

"Oil!:" ! ,Lw

Blacksmiths shop Extensions, 1889-1892

Extensions, 191.8

Factory Building, 1985

Rear View of Office/Store

Cupola for Melting Iron

View of Part of Machine Shop

Acetylene Generator

Acetylene Reservoir

Portion of Machine Drive System

Sample Journal Entry, 1919

L.aycock Income, 1912-1964

Timeline of Innovation

Cast Iron Wire Strainer, circa 1906

Commercial Oxy-Acetylene Plant

Comox Advertisement, 1934

Page

6

20

22

240

25

29

30

31

32

34

36

37

38

39

40

43

47

48

50

53

54

56

68

72

74

75

76

78

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 't

I I I

Figure 29"

Figure 3()"

Figure 31"

Fi gLlI~e 32"

Figure 33 ..

Fi gLlI~e 34"

Page

Fish Advertisement, 1900 84

The Fi I~st Laycock El evatOl~? 1919 86

Bag Lumping 88

Proposed Installation for Sydney

Hal~bour Trust, 1925 9' ._'

Elevator Sales, 1919 - 1950 98

Grain Handling Methods vs Elevator

Sales, 1947-1970 104


L

INTRODUCTION.

The principal objective of this study was to record the

transformation of a nineteenth century blacksmiths shop

into a manufacturing enterprise. This transformation

ensured the survival of this family business over nearly a

century, during which time a majority of blacksmiths were

put out of business by changing technology and a decline in

the work available.

Methodology normally used by the historical

archaeologist in site analysis was applied to this

industrial site. Documentary evidence, oral history ,and

physical recording techniques were' used to determine, as

closely as possible, reasons for changes in the physical

environment, the personnel, and the work done over the

period 1889 to 1986. Excavation was considered unnecessary

because of the extensive array of physical evidence

available on the site above ground level .

Whilst the Laycock story is neither unique, in the

growth of Australian industry, nor glamorous, it is the

story of the survival of a blacksmith and the growth of a

small industry in a large country town. It was also

important as a piece of industrial archaeology: although

still operating in 1986, the machinery and equipment in

this country town manufacturing shop was reminiscent of

manufacturing workshops that flourished in the 19th

I I I I I I I

'I I

I I i I I I I I I I I I I

centur-y.:L Lathes 'I machines and guillotines

dr-iven by central lineshafts, car-bide-gener-ated acetylene,

the blacksmith's forge and a homemade cupola remained as a

unique eNample of cl technology long since surpassed by

individually dr'i ven computer-contr-olled machinery,

automated foundr-ies, and sophisticated production

equipment.

The Blacksmith.

"Before the motoring era, man depended on the horse, and both depended on the blacksmith".2

This contempor-ar-y analysis of the importance of the

blacksmith falls far short of a true assessment of his

skill and value. There is little doubt that people in

agricultural and pastor-al pur-suits depended on the horse

and the 'skill of the blacksmith. It must, however-, be

emphasised that

"horseshoeing pr-oduction of cor-ner-stone of ir-on for tools,

was a minor. part of the overall the smith; he was actually the a civilisation utterly dependent on machines, and hardware".::S

The smith's demise, too, was due to more than just the

influence of the motor car- over- the hor-s~. Four- br-Dad

components of the Industrial Revolution war-ked successively

against the very essence of his trade to seal his fate. In

the fir-st instance, ther-e wer-e those "wondr-ous

:LLane 1971: 231-233. 20'Neill 1987: 63. ::SBealer- 1976: 10.


3 ..

f.":!ngynnes" '} 4

"capable of being wl~ough·t or- put in motion by fil~e, water,} Ol~ e:\ir",eJ

that had a profound effect on the predominant power sources

of earlier ages - animals, wind and water. With a new power

source came a new technology which was soon to be applied

to every aspect of human endeavour. Secondly, increased

mechanisation and more sophisticated technology changed the

nature of work. The new machine~~ 'could no longer be

wrought from raw iron alone. Without new skills and new

machinery, the traditional blacksmith was left to repair

the old technology, and to shoe the rapidly declining

number of horses. Thirdly, the advent of cheap, readily

avai 1 abl f:-j, mass-produced hardware severely reduced the

demand for individually made items from the blacksmith.

Finally, the invention of the internal combustion engine

wi th its i ncreas:.ed power-to-weight ratio and eminent

pOI~tal::d.l i ty compared to t.he steam engi ne, I ed to another,

higher If!.~vel of technoloqical sophistication. With it came

an explosion in the process of mass production; the motor

the farm tractor, modern mechanised farm implements

and mechanised industry.

FOI~ a majority of blacksmiths, the onset of the

technological age, born out of the industrial revolution,

was the beginning of the end. Unable, or unwilling to keep

pace with industrial developments, to learn new skills and

4Haining and Tyler 1970: 43. ~Haining and Tyler 1970: 42.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I i I I I

4.

techniques, to adopt new processes,they were left behind to

fend for themselves in a collapsing market of repair to

carriages and old farm implements. For others, such as

Laycocks, there was a form of metamorphosis - a transition

from blacksmith to practical engineer and manufacturer.

The earliest means known to man for the extraction of

iron involved the beating of sponge iron to separate the

metal from the gangue. This process was necessary due to

the fact that it was not possible at the time to smelt the

iron from its ore as a liquid. To extract and refine the

metal it had to be worked between hammer and anvil. The

very process is reflected in the name attached to the

product of the process wrought (or worked) iron. The

person who 'smote' the new black metal with a hammer became

known as the blacksmith.·

The trade was passed on through oral instruction and

apprenticeship. It separated from the iron smelting trade

and by the middle ages in Britain and Europe, as well as

the general blacksmith, some ironworkers specialised their

craftsmanship to become armourers, farriers and cutlers.

Others specialised in forging small items such as bridles

and bits, and large shops specialised in ships' anchors,

and other heavy components. 7

The apogee of the blacksmith's work occurred in the

middle ages, with decline commencing in the mid-nineteenth

·Bealer 1976: 3. 7Bealer 1976: 23.


5.

century when

"huge steam-dri ven tri p-hammel~s were used to produce all manner of tools through mass-production •••• The village blacksmith, with his tradition of fine workmanship, could hardly hope to compete in price.n ••• ". B

The work of the blacksmith in the fledgling colony of

New South Wales was centred not on the decorative work of

the armourer, or the skill of the Damascus swordmaker, but

rather on supplying the mundane needs of a civilisation

left to establish itself and eke out a living in a new and

harsh environment. For the early Australian blacksmith it

was hammers, axes, scythes, chisels, wagon tyres, hub

rings, hinges, shot bolts, shovels, ladles, forks and all

forms of hardware, not to mention the myriad horses' feet

that had to be shod. The following extract illustrates the

conditions for a newly arrived blacksmith:

limy trade is very dull in the town just now at lest(sic) the blacksmiths business for my trade is not in the town unless it be horse shoeing which I have got a job at to comen~e(sic) on Monday (this is Saturday) so I have not got a trick of it yet to see how I will like it ••.•• wages here is about 10/- a week •••. they tell me it is from 8/to 12/- per day but then the board and loding(sic) is dear thy(sic) tell me I cannot get it for less than £1 a week and washing is 3/6 ot 4/- the dosen(sic) whatever it be .•••• I commenced work here today and got on very well considering after being a 4 months idle they are the hardest working men ever I was with the sweat ran down my face in burns today but I will soon get used to it

11 .. 9

There was plenty of work for the blacksmith in country

centres of NSW where between 1835 and 1851, the population

rate was increasing at a much greater rate than in

SBealer 1976: 24. 9Marr 1863, appendix 18: 155.


Sydney.10 The fledgling township of Bathurst, established

in with a population of between 1000 and 2000 people

1832.} supported ten blacksmiths. 11 It is notable that

this figure changed little for the next 70 years even

though the population of the town and district continued to

4increase L\n"til 1891.

12 .... - • - ....... , .... ... ....

.... .... .... \ 11 ..... -....

..... \ .' 0 0 (J'J 0 J: 0 I-x :;E Z (J'J

·0 ~

l-Q ~

~ -I -I m => 0- d 0 z 0-

........ , ,.-10 ....... .-- • ..!.. ,,-• / \ -.

\ 9 / •

/ 8 •

/ 7 •

/ /

6 / BA THURST DISTRICT

• 6

,.-• ,.-

/ • - - - BATHURST TOWN 4 / • • 3 / - - - - NO. BLACKSMITHS

'I • 2

o~----~----~----~----~----~----~----~----~----~----~----~

I ,

I I

1820 1840 1860

YEAR - 1880 1900 1920 '

Fig. 1. Blacksmiths Vs Population of Bathurst.

The stagnant number of blacksmiths in Bathurst (1832 -

1900) may well reflect the fact that there was little

change in the pastoral and agricultural holdings over these

years, and that their demands on the blacksmith changed

litU.e also. It is more likely that the decline in the

number of blacksmiths relative to the population reflected

10Jeans 1972: 118. 11NSW Calendar and General Post Office Directory, 1832.


~

I ..

increased mechanisation both on the land and in the town

togeth(;?r wit.h the incr-easing availability of retail

hardwar-e that would nor-mally be produced by the blacksmith.

The decline of the blacksmith from 1900 on, to the point

where Laycock's was the only blacksmith in the city in the

:l.950's can be attributed to increasing growth in

mechanisation in the rural sectol'" ~ the growth in

mass-pr-oduced metal pr-oducts and the advent of the motor

cal~ • Rural mechanisation is reflected in the following

figures relating to the growth of tractors used on rural

holdings~

:1.936-1946 an increase of approximately 3250

tractors per year,

1950-:1.960 an increase of approximately 10250

tractors per year. 12

Foundries. .

The blacksmith and founder were essential craftsmen in

the working of metal to produce the tools of civilisation

and war. The blacksmith's trade came with the discovery and

e}:traction of iron, and followed the tradition of the

established redsmiths of the Bronze Age. 13 Archaeological

evidence indicates that metal casting (to become known as

foundry work) had its or-igins in approximately 4000 B.C. in

the Eurasiatic belt. From here it moved to the Orient

wher-e, by 600 B.C. in China, ir-on casting was

12Bureau of Agricultur-al Economics :1.971: 31. 13Bealer :1.969: 14.


8.

pr·actised. :1.4

MDulding in clay was the principal process for casting

in anti qui ty '} with moulding bDxes being employed after the

middle ages.1~ It was this technology that was still

being used in the LaycDck factory in the early twentieth

cE?nt.ury.

The term fDundry deri ves fl~om the Fr-ench IfDundl~e",

from the Latin "fundere" (tD melt), and became cDmmonly

applied to the casting process in . the si }.( teenth

century. 16 Predominant foundry wOI~k in the first

millenium A.D. was the casting of bronze bells, which was

followed in the middle ages with casting of cannon. The

first detailed account of the techniques and processes of

the foundry industry was described by VannDccio Biringuccio

( 1480 1539) in The Pirotechnica. 17 Biringuccio, the

father of the foundry industry, was {n charge of the Papal

foundry at the time.

Major developments' in the foundry industry from the

middle ages to the turn of the new century centred around

the smelting and melting of metals rather than the

technolo(]y of mouldmaking and casting. The transition from

char"coal to COi:"I1. (619) and then cDke ( 1709) ; the

development of the blast furnace by Darby in 1709 and

Neilson in 1828; the development of the cupola by Wilkinson

14Winter 1958: 3. 1~Singer 1957: 628. 16Simpson 1948~ 152. 17Biringuccio 1q42~ 218-233.


9.

in 1794 and Colliau in 1874; the application of steam power

to operate bellows by Wilkinson in 1794; the safety ladle

by Nasmythe in 1867; and new casting alloys (malleable iron

by 1700; crucible steel in 1740; puddled iron in 1784) each

contributed to the growth and development of the industry

throughout the Industrial Revolution.

The foundry industry had reached Australia by 1833. One

of the earliest shops was the Australian Iron and Brass

Foundry? established in 1833. 1eJ The industry is I~eported

to have had many false stal~ts. '.9 It is more than probable

that at least a brass foundv-y, or foundl~ies had been

establ i shed before the above mentioned date. Foundry

materials were transported to the colony as ships ballast.

Growth was slow as foundry products were imported more

cheaply from England.

Another iron foundry in Sydney is mentioned in the

following account by F.Gerstaecker:

"I therefore took my luggage to the Royal Hotel •••. in George Street, the main street of Sydney .• , •• While ~itting one evening in my little room, a dull noise came up to me from below; and on opening my window, which had a beautiful prospect over the rear of an iron-foundry, besides the benefit of hearing the hammering all day, I could easily recognise all the sounds of a very lively meeting",,20

This foundry was the "Sydney Foundry and Engineering

Works" operated by Peter Nicol Russell from 1842.21 The -

1eJHughes 1964: 2. 19Hughes 1964: 2. 20Gerstaecker 1853: 269-285. ~LAustralasian Engineer 1941: 10.

I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

10.

foundry was capable of extensive ironwork22 and " .. oBrass

casti ng£' of any magni tude. 0 • " • 112:5

By 1858 records show that fifteen brass-founders and

five iron-founders were established in Sydney mainly around

the Susse~-: , Liverpool and Goulburn Streets

area. 24 The iron foundry industry remained relatively

static until the turn of the century when only seven

foundries are recorded. 25 According to various Commercial

Directories the number of brass founders decreased to eight

in 1864/5, and then steadily increased to twenty five in

1899.

The foundry industry was active in Bathurst before 1867

with an iron-foundry owned by Mr. Thomas Denny.26 This was

taken over by Hobert Blailr, a fonner employee, in 1880. The

foundry was situated at the bottom of Havannah St., and

must have closed in the late 19th century as it is not

mentioned in the 1900 Federal Directory.

second foundry as part of his enterprise sometime between

186227 and 1870. 28

BathLwst 's third foundry,

Laycock family VJas set up by ~1r"

Laycock shop bettnJeen the turn o'f

22Australasian Engineer 1941: 10. 23Sy dney Morning Herald 1842: 3.

1 ater- to be

Pleasant at the

the century and

24Sands and Kenny Directory 1858: 227 and 246. 25Sa nds and Kenny Directory 1900. 26Morrison 1888: 4. 27Morrison 1888: 2. 2SGreaves 1976: 61. 29Irvine 1986, appendix A5: 81.

owned by tt-'Ie

real" o'f the

1907. 29

I I I I I I I.


1L

Machine Shops.

The foundry trade can be used to produce finished

commodities (i • e. verandah posts~ decorative ironwork and

cast iron stove parts). As technology developed 1 however,

it became necessary to machine certain cast items so that

they would fit onto other machined components (i.e. a cast

bearing has to be machined to fit the shaft th~t it is to

Consequently, machinery was developed and machine

shops set up to carry out this work.

By the sixteenth century boring machines had been

developed for the machining of cast cannon. 30 By the

early seventeenth century~ fairly complex lathes were in

use for turning decorative objects. Clockmakers extended

their complexity from the mid-seventeenth century as their

trade progressed in leaps and bounds. 31 Their size

increased with the demands of the Industrial Revolution for

m~dium and heavy engineering.

Integration and Diversification.

During the Industrial Revolution in England, large

industries brought a large range of trades such as

founder's, blacksmiths, boilermakers, machinists, fitters,

patternmakers, etc. together into an integrated

manufacturing unit designed to produce specific goods such

as traction engines. 32 This pattern occured in large

30Singer et aI, Vol 3, 1957: 366. 31Wild 1980: 534. 32Lane 1971: 235.

I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

1? ~"

industries around the world.

Combinations of fewer trades, such as a foundry and

machine shop, were characteristic of smaller industrial

firms. With new technology challenging the existence of the

blacksmith, there was a need for the blacksmith to

incorporate new machinery into the traditional shop

alongside the hearth, leg vice, and post drill, to produce

an integrated workshop. For the country blacksmith this

allowed a variety of work to be carried out to satisfy the

new . and expanding needs of the agriculturalist and

pastoralist as they adapted to new technology.

On the part of the traditional blacksmith this required

an entrepreneurial spirit, a desire to be innovative. The

process today would be referred to as diversification.

Thomas Laycock was not only a blacksmith of courage to

bring his family across the world to a new home, but also a

man with this innovative spirit. Either 7 from first hand

experience in his homeland, or because he had a vision of

future change, he recognised the need to ensure that his

new shop in Bathurst (NSW) was capable of more than just

traditional blacksmith's work. And so it was that I,e

established an integrated workshop in Seymour Street. The

importance of the Laycock enterprise in Bathurst extends

beyond this initial level of innovation and diversification

which was probably necessary for survival. Under the

direction of Thomas' son, Joseph William, and his grandson

Cyril, the family business entered a period of extensive

and varied diversification from the implementation of the


1.3 ..

first oxy-acetylene welding plant to the manufacture of

grai n el evatol"s.

Notwithstanding the levels of innovation and

diversification (1.900-1.950) which would require capital

injection, the firm only ever qperated with a small labour

force of family members and unskilled workers from outside

the fa~ily. Following the construction of the garage in

1925 there was no si gni f i cant capi tal e~·(pendi ture to

modernise either buildings or equipment that would sustain

the firm into the 1980's.

After production of bag elevators ceased in 1969,

declining activity of the firm may be attributed to the

following: (1) a lack of capital injection, (i1) a lack of

new skills and ideas that may have come from the use of a

more highly skilled workforce, and (iii) the introduction

into Australian industry of new machinery and production

methods.

The quiescent nature of the ~irm from 1970 into the

1980's ended abruptly with the death of the owner in 1986.

The site location~ the structural weakness of the

building, the obsolete nature of the machinery, and the

absence of a successor in this family business almost

dictated that the property would be sold and redeveloped.

It should be noted that associated with this study, but

as a separate project, I co-ordinated the relocation of the

Laycock factory to the Bathurst Gold Diggings Museum as an

example of late nineteenth century industry in rural

33Western Advocate 1988.


l4.

2. THE ~AYCOCK FAMILY.

The history of the Laycock enterprise starts with Henry

Anderson and Thomas Laycock. Henry Anderson emigrated to

from England and set up the blacksmith's shop

that was later purchased by Thomas Laycock. Thomas and his

family had also emigrated to Australia from England,

leaving behind an enterprise similar to the one that he was

to develop in Bathurst. The family blacksmithing and

machining tradition, set up by Thomas, was progressively

passed down through three generations of Laycock sons in

what might be termed an informal family apprenticeship as

was common in this trade. Bealer suggests that a lack of

formal education has been almost a characteristic of the

trade over the last one hundred and fifty years. 1

Family Background.

The Laycock family has its roots in the County of -

Cumberland, England. John Laycock ~gentleman) was born in

1802 and lived at Thornthwaite, a small farming centre

approximately 7 km south of Wigton, in the Parish of

Boltons (County Cumberland).2 He married Mary Martin at

Boltons Parish on 15 November 1825, and they too lived at

Thornthwaite. 3 Their son, Thomas, was born in Boltons

Parish in 18384 and with his brother William, grew up on

the farm that their father most likely owned:

" ... There are probably few counties where property

1Bealer 1976: 27. 2King 1987, appendix 14: 144. 3Hodgson 1987, appendix I3~ 143. 4NSW Registrar of Deaths, Thomas Laycock.


It

manol'"

~:;cyth€~s

:1.5.

in land is divided into such small parcels as Cumberland~ and those small properties so universally occupied by the owners •• ".".,e;

is reported that there were sixteen farms on the

of Thornthwaite and that iron ploughs, cultivators,

and scarifiers were in use in the region in the

1800's.6 Agricultural crops included wheat, clover,

'gl'''eens' , oats and barley. The wheat crop was worth £12

1811, and ploughing was carried out by oxen. 7

Pastoral activities included cattle and sheep.B

A few kilometres to the northwest of Thornthwaite there

were a number of small coal mines, which finally closed in

the 1920·s·. To the south at Keswick it is reported that:

"heretofore it was much inhabited by minerall men who had their smelting houses near Greata Syde ... wch with his forceable streams and their ingenious inventions served them in notable stead for easy bellow-workers, hammer works, forge works ..... "Dani el FI emmi ng, (1669).:1.0

Collieries also existed to the west, at Whitehaven and

l-tJorkington. The first steam engines were installed there in

1778,-1780 , for pumping and winding. A Boulton and Watt

engine was installed at Workington in 1789.:1.:1.

E;.:peri ments in the application of steam power to

implements such as ploughing engines were well

und(::i!I'''~\lay 8'1'. thE~ bf:.':g :i. 1"11'1 :i. ng of the n :i. netE)f;~nth centul"Y" 1.2

Steam power had its heyday on the land in the period

6Hughes 1965: 209. 6Hughes 1965: 210 and 228. 7Hughes 1965: 225. BHughes 1965: 231. ·1<in(.:;J 19B7, appendL·: 14: :1.44. :l.°Cited in Hughes :l.965~ 4. :I.:I.Hughes 1965: 166-170. :l.2Haining and TylsF :1.970: 45.


16 ..

1840-1890 in England .. 13

Thomas grew up in the era of steam power, and steam

technology. \.>Jhi le it is surprising that Thomas did not take

up farming, as his own father was a landowner, there were

obviously openings for a blacksmith because of extensive

farming and mining activities throughout the county. Thomas

and his brother William became blacksmiths. Whether on the

land or with the mines, as blacksmiths, they could not fail

to pick up knowledge and skills related to this technology.

At this point it is important to note the clear

similarities between the district of Bolton and the

district of Bathurst to which Thomas finally brought his

family in 1884n

..... It [BathurstJ is the centre of a vast, ri ch Agricultural and Pastoral district ... ",:L4

" ••• The great plains with their vast undulating areas of grass bear huge flocks of sheep and cattle. They are well watered and below the surface have untold millioos of wealth in coal to heat and melt the iron from the mountain fringes, the metal from which man makes his implements to wrest from the earth her secrets and stores of wealth, his machinery of commercial industry ..• ".1F-i

Thomas married Jane 1859 and had four

children Thomas '} Joseph William, and John) between

1860 and 1872. There is no reference to the Laycock family

in Boltons Parish records after 1872 which would suggest

that the family left the Parish about that time.:L6They

13Haining and Tyler 1970: 96-119. 14Bathurst Federal Directory, 1900: 1~Bathurst Federal Directory 1900: 16King 1987, appendix 14: 144.

:-:vi. ,.~,. ....


17.

had three more children (Elizabeth, Sarah and Charles).

before leaving England in 1884.

smigration.

The reason for Thomas' emigration from England to

Australia is not clear. It may have been related to family

circumstances, to dissatisfaction with the homeland, or to

the promise of greater prosperity in Australia.

Thomas, his wife Jane, and their seven children

departed from Glasgow on the ship "Crown of Arragon" on 18

April 1884.17 The "Crown" was a new 275hp steam powered

vessel of iron hull construction, built in Greenock in

Thomas brought with him at least one piece of machinery

from his works in County Cumberland

This could be the Pitt. Bros. lathe which was still in the

building in Bathurst in 1985 and is now located at the

Bathurst Gold Diggings Museum.

The ship docked in Moreton Bay (Queensland) in July

1884. 21 The Laycock's probably travelled directly to

Bathurst, arriving there in August 1884.

If the family were seeking a new life and prosperity in

Australia it is likely that they had decided to move to

Bathurst before they left England. The Bathurst Guide

17Queensland State Archives, 86 and 96.

Immigration Records, No.119:

1SLLoyd's Register of Shipping, 1889. 19Irvine 1986, appendix A5: 84. 20Laycock 1986, appendix A6: 107. 21Queensland State Archives, Immigration Records, No.119: 86 and 96.


18"

" •• " In 1.880 pl~osperi ty returned ~ and the annual I~eports became more jubi 1 ant intone •• " ".22

Economic in Bathurst in the 1880's was

effected by a wealthy agricultural and pastoral industry,

the income from mining, and the coming of the railway.

Pr' o~";pel''':i. t y ~'J<::\s I~ef 1 ect.ed in a ped. od o·f e:-:tensive building

activit.y~ large scale employment, t.he beginning o·f

i ndustl~y, and the est.abl i shf!l~nt of educational

institutions.

" ••• Bathurst was settling down to the era of stable growth ••• ".2:3

News of t.his prosperity, together with the similarities

between Boltons Parish and the Bathurst District may have

been sufficient. motivation for Thomas Laycock to set his

sights on a new life in Bathurst.

In Bathurst t.hey took residence at. 1.08 Seymour

Street"Z4 This house was owned by Mr Henry Anderson, a

well established blacksmith. Thomai Laycock later worked

with Henry Anderson and eventually bought him out.

Henry Anderson.

There is no firm evidence that Thomas had made direct

communication with Henry Anderson before finalising his

plans t.o emigrate, but it is possible that Thomas knew

about the Anderson Blacksmith's works through published

trade directories such as the Country Directory and

Z2Bathurst Progress Committee, 1.893: 3. 2:3Greaves 1.976: 153. 24Laycock 1.985, appendix 15: 1.45.


1.9.

Henry Anderson was born in Kircudbright, Scotland in

1834. 26 He emigrated from the English port of Liverpool

as a single blacksmith of twenty three on board the 1023

ton ship "Aloe".:.;?'? The ship arrived in Sydney on 31 July

1857.:';?'9 -It is possible that his immigration to NSW,and

his presence in Bathurst was in response to the discovery

of gold in 1851 and the subsequent gold rush.

Sometime after his arrival in Bathurst Henry inherited

land located in Russell Street (between Seymour Street and

Bentick Street) from an unknown person; a property that he

sold in 1876 to John Heylin. 29

Whether as a blacksmith, property investor, or as a

thelre is little doubt that Henry was financially

successful. Within 17 years of his arrival in Bathurst he

ot. ... ned a blacksmith's shop on the corner of Seymour and

Piper Streets (Fig. 2), and seven houses between Piper and

-Keppel Street.30 Lord Street had riot been established at

this time.

The Laycock Family in Bathurst:

The Laycock family have had an association with

Bathurst since Thomas and his family arrived in 1884.

Following the purchase of Anderson's blacksmith's shop the

2~Country Directory, 1881. 26NSW Registrar General, Death Certificate, Henr'y Ander-son. 27Lloyd's Register of Shipping, 1857. 29Archives Office of NSW, Index to Immigrants, Reel 2475. 29NSW Registrar General? Land Title Deeds, 1876: 160/702.

3°1"1uni ci pal it Y 1875.

of BathUlrst? Land Assessment Records,

I I I business was managed by four generations of th Laycock

family, and other family members either ared th

I management responsibility or worked in the 'shop' s asual

employees.

I I I I I I I I

Fig. 2: Anderson's Blacksmith's Shop,

116 Seymour Street, Bathurst.

I It is necessary to understand the family tree of those

I generations that were intimately involved in the shop for

they are, in the main, all named Joseph' (refer to volume

I appendix C: 115) There is a definite trend in the family

I to preserve the names Joseph and William, and this trend

extends into the fifth and sixth generations of this line

I of the Laycock family.

For the purpose of this study Joseph William Laycock

I (1865 1939) will be referred to as William, Joseph Cyril

I k (1892 - 1958) as Cyril, and Joseph William Laycock

I I

I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I i I I I

21..

( 1920 1986) as '~'Joe ' . Joe and Cyril were certainly

referred to by t.hese names by both family and employees.

The following information is provided on family members

involved in management of the firm:

a) Thomas Laycock (senior).

Thomas and Jane, with the family of four boys and three

girls~ had just settled in Bathurst when their fourth

daughtel~ Cora was born. 3 :L Thomas (49) commenced

employment on the railways on 12 August 1884 as a

blacksmith at Bathurst with a wage of 10/- per day.

Although industry had begun to grow in the municipality in

response to the riches of the mining, agricultural and

pastoral i ndustri es ~ it was the railways that were to

become the " •.. largest single employer in the city •• "32

by 1899.

Thomas worked with the railways for five years. He must

have developed a close association wFth his landlord, Henry

Anderson~ who by this time had built a second blacksmith's

shop at 110 Seymour St.reet (Fig. 3).33

On 19 November 1889 Thomas Laycock purchased Anderson's

29-year-old blacksmit.h's business and the property at

108-110 Seymour Street. 34,3t'!5 Thomas lived in t.he

cottage at 108 Seymour Street until his deat.h in August

3:LNSW Registrar General, Laycock. 32Greaves 1976: 98.

Death

33Laycock 1986~ appendix A6: 101.

Certificate,

~4NSW Regist.rar General~ Land Title Deeds, 427/266. 33Bat.hurst Daily Times 23 December 1889.

Thomas

I I I

1900 as 11 . an 01 d and high I y Ir'espected resi dent ... " .36

I b)

Charles was born to Thomas and Jane oc kin 1882

I just two years before their emigration to Austr lia. When

I Thomas di ed, hi s sons William (35) and Charles (18) took

manal;Jement of the business operating under the name

I ock Brothers. 37 Charles left the partnership to take

up employment in the Li thgow Small -Arms Factory, and after

I the second world war he joined the engineering staff of the

I Pottery Coal Mine until his retirement. He died in Lithgow

in 1958. 39

I I I I I I I Fig. Blacksmith's Shop at 11.0 Seymour

I I 36National Advocate 21 August 1900.

I istrar General of NSW, Statement

1903. 3SLithgow Mercury 1958.

for istration,

I I

I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I

23"

Thomas's son, William~ also joined the Railways with

his father and elder brother, Thomas. He commenced work on

:1.7 August :1.884 as a labourer on 7/6 per day.39 In

Septembel~ of that year he was transferred to Bathurst. He

married Jane Fitzsimmons in 1887 at St. Barnabas. 40 ,41

They lived in Vale Road, Milltown, where his first

daughter, Elsie, was born in 1890, and he was later

transferred to Wellington (NSW) to assist with the

installation of a railway turntable. Whilst there, his son

Joseph Cyril Laycock (Cyril) was born in :1.892. William

returned to Bathurst where two daughters (Lillian, 1898,

and Gladys 1900) were born.42 When his father died,

William moved into the cottage at :1.08 Seymour Street to

look after his mother,43 and to become joint manager of

the business with his brother Charles. 44

Joseph William Laycock continued to live at 108 Seymour

Street and work in the blacksmith's ~hop until his death at

work in July :1.939 - this was whilst straightening a large

wishbone from a road grader in the forge.4~

d) Joseph Cyril Laycock (Cyril). Fig. 5.

Cyril was born in :1.892 in Wellington (NSW). He moved to

Bathurst with his parents and during his teen years he

39Railway Branch, Return of Employees 1887: 55. 4°NSW Registrar General, Death Certificate, Joseph Laycock. 41Laycbck 1986, appendix A6: :1.1:1.. 42Laycock 1985, appendix 15: 145. 43Laycock 1985, appendix 16: 148. 44Registrar General of NSW, Statement for Registration, 1903 .. .q·~Lc.-\ycock 1986, appE,rldix A6~ 108.


apprenticed himself to his father learn the

blacksmith/engineering trade.

In 1915 he married Ellen Pilley in Bathurst and they

moved into a home at 194 Piper Street.46 il became a

partner in the blacksmith's business with his father in

1917. At th time he s registered as living in a house

adjacent to the firm CNo. 112.), a property that he later

purchased in The expansion of the business

from blacksmithing and machining to manufacturing occurred

during the time that Cyril managed the firm, initially in

partnership with his father, and later with his own son

Joseph William ock (Joel.

Fig. 4 Home of Cyril

ock 1985, appendi istrar Gener I

Firm, 1917. 4BNSW istrar General,

ock, 112 Seymour Street.

16: 148. NSW, Change in Constitution

Land Title Deeds, 1169/699.

of


Cyr< ill i ved e;d< 112 Seymour Street until he died in

Novembelr< 1958. 4 '>'

e) Fig. 5.

Joe was the only male child in a family of five born to

Cyri 1 and Ellen. As a child and teenager he lived next door

to the firm at 112 Seymour Street and just as his father

had before him, he grew up in the firm's environment. He

too was taught the trade by his grandfather, being actively

engaged as a "striker" for him in his young days.t'!'iO He

learned the machining side of the trade from his father.

Fig.

4 "i'f\lSW

Cyril

5 J.C.

istrar ock.

Laycock (left) and J.W. Laycock outside the

, circa 1945. t'!51

of Deaths, Death Certificate, Joseph

oc k 1985 , c\p p en d i B 1: 113. ock Family Tree, ap ix C, 115.


2611

In 1938 at 18, Joe enlisted with the Australian Militia

Forc(~s In 1941 he transferred to the

Austl~al :i. <i:\n Impel'·· i al and served with the 54th

Bi:"lttal ion and the Australian Armoured Car Regiment.

of his service was carried out in Perth where he was badly

injured. He was discharged in July 1944 and returned

home. 52 In August of that year his father took him into

the partnership at age twenty four. 53

He married Whaneeta Howard in Bathurst in 1950 and they

lived at 112 Seymour Street until the mid 1980's.

The firm Joseph Laycock and Son thrived from the 1940's

to the 1960's until the decline in demand for Laycock

elevators resulted in production ceasing in 1969. From 1969

until the firm closed in 1983 business consisted mainly of

light general engineering work including machining and

welding of structural steelwork for the building

FoIl owi rig hiS', ·F c:\ t. h t?I'·· ' s; death in 1958, Joe continued

management Df thE~ f il'··m until his death in 1986.

52Australian Army, Central 37461. ~.Registrar General of NSW, Change 54Layc:ock 1986, appen~ix A6~ 109.

F:ecolr·ds, 1988,

in Particulars,

JVC/NX,

1944.


27.

3. THE SITE .. !;lUIL.DINGS and EQUIPMENT.

The use of documentary and oral history techniques has

enabled a chronology of the ownership and gross structural

developments on the site to be determined with reasonable

accuracy. Some of the lesser changes within the

blacksmith's shop/factory building have not been dated

precisely, but other changes, such as the relocation of the

central drive lineshaft for the machinery from the middle

to one end of the building, have been confirmed by evidence

produced from the extensive site recording program carried

out by myself and my students in 1985.

The recording program was limited to the site and to

the one building enclosing the 1889 blacksmith's shop,

although the chronology of all buildings on the site has

been determined.

Several techniques were employed in recording the site

features, namely, direct measurement (Appendix G) , ':"

theodolite surveys (Appendix H) , and an extensive

photographic program (Volume 3). Data from the

triangulation survey, and the theodolite survey were

transferred to a computer aided drawing program (AutoCad)

which was used to prepare initial site and building

plans. 1 These have subsequently been updated and are

included in Appendix J.

Catalogue and location details of the machinery, tools

and equipment present on the site were transferred to a

computer database CdBase 11) on an on-site portable IBM

1Gibson 1985: 60 and 61.


computer.

for the

equipment

This database

machinery, but

has not been

28.

was later used to analyse detail

the analysis of the tools and

included in this study due to the

large number and variety involved.

The value of the site as an example of Industrial

Archaeology lies in the fact that the building, machinery

and equipment were typical of a n~neteenth-century

black~mith's and machinery workshop, and they had remained

relatively unaltered for some 40 years. As such the site

would closely approach a sealed archaeological deposit. 2

The industry was also unique in that it was, to all intents

and purposes, fully operational at the time the site was

recorded.

Site Location.

Joseph Laycock and Son occupied a block of land

approximately ~quivalent to two normal residential blocks :

in Seymour Street, Bathurst (NSW). The block is located

just southwest of a line between the central business

district and the railway station. (Fig. 6)

Site History.

Following Governor Macquarie's proclamation of the

" ... town and townshi p of Bathurst ... ":3 on Sunday 1'1ay 7,

1815, all land on the south side of the river was closed to

private settlement. The "town" for these people was

2CFoemi n 1988: 3. 3Greaves 1976: 7.

I I I I I


29.

to the ThE':> r-estr-iction to private

development in the town was lifted in 1832 when

LAYCOCK'S

Fig. 6 Location of Laycock's in Bathurst.5

Gover-nor- Bour-ke visited Bathur-st and instructed Major

Mitchell to make arrangements " ... for opening the town of

Bathurst without delay ... ".6 The Assistant Surveyor- at

Bathurst, J.B.Richards, divided Macquarie's blocks into 2

rood (2000 ( 2 ) allotments and the fir-st sales wer-e held

in the Police Office, Sydney, on 9th August 18337•

The block bounded by Veppel , Piper-, SeymouF' and

Havannah Streets (Section 85) contained 20 allotments, each

5 chains (lOOm) >: 1 chain (20m) (Fig. 7). Allotments 1-10

of this block were purchased in November 1852 by Mr Maur-ice

4Greaves 1976: 17. eBar-ker- 1985: 189. 6Gr-eaves 1976: 19. 7Greaves 1976: 20.


Hayes (butcher).s These

~ (J)

a: w a. a.

20

19

18

17

16

16

14

13

12

11

SEYMOUR ST. 1

2

3

4

6

6

7

8'

9

10

HAVANNAH ST.

I(J)

-' w a. a. w ~

Fig. 7 Division of Section 85, Bathurst, 1833.

were sold to Francis Lord (gentlemen of Sydney) for £700 in

June 1854. 9 In February 1880 allotments 1 and 2 were

sub-divided and Francis Lord (by then MLC of Rydal) sold

blocks to Richard Corlis and Thomas McKell. 10 11 , In

the latter transaction a reserved road called Lord Street

was formed.

In May, 1854, Mr.William Farrand (painter) purchased

allotments 18-20 for a total of £97. 12 Following

Farrand's death in 1871 lots 19 and 20 were sold at an

auction held in September 1874, where they were purchased

by Henry Anderson (blacksmith) for a total of £1021 with a

mortgage from Charles McPhillamy.13 Clearly, William

---------------sNSW Regi stral~ General's Office, Register of Town Purchases, No.234. 9NSW Registrar General's Office., Land Title Deeds, 32/589,. 10NSW Registl~ar General 's Office, Land Title Deeds, 199/603. 11NSW Regi =.trar General 's Office, Land Title Deeds, 1.99/721.. 12NSW RE·gi st.r-i':\r·· General 's Off i ce, F<egi ster of TOIrJn Purchases, No. 239. ~·::!!INSW RE!gi stral~ GEmeral ; s Offi CE!, Land Title Deeds, 147/142.

I I

I I I I I I I i I I I I I I I I I I

31 ..

Far-r-and substantially impr-oved the value of the

pr-oper·ty. In June 1876 Ander-son sold a pr-oper-ty in Russell

Str-eet which he had inher-ited (Allotment 17, Section

SEYMOUR ST.

20

ANDERSON McKELL LORD CORLISS

---------- -.-- - -- _. -.-- ---.----1876 1880 1864 1880 ~

~ Cl)

Cl)

a: w a.

~ ~ t==-===~=-~====~-=-=-:=-:==t~~~;::=====~ - ------ If

a: a. a.

o W ~ ~

--+---.----1- - - - - ---

Fi'g. 8 Subdivision of Allotments, and 20,

Section 85, Seymour- St. ,1880.

10).14 Ander-son used the £800 income fr-om this sale to

payout his mor-tgage with Char-Ies McPhillamy .1~ Henr-y

moved to live on the cor-ner- of Piper- and Seymour- Str-eets in

a thr-ee r-oom house and blacksmith's shop. 16

Ander-son managed the pr-oper-ties on Allotments 19 and 20

unti J. Novembel~ 1889 when he sold a sub-divided block (30.5

>: 39m) to Thomas Laycock (Blacksmith) for- £810. 17 Laycock

mor-tgaged a pr-oper-ty he owned in Milltown for- £200 which he

paid to Ander-son. 18 The balance was mor-tgaged back to

14NSW Registr-ar-160/702. 1~NSW Registr-ar-147/143. 16Tighe 1986: 1u 17NSW Registr-ar-427/266. 18NSW Registr-ar-427/912.

Gener-al 's

Gener-al '5

Gener-al's

Office, Land Title Deeds,





32.

Anderson~19 and Thomas repaid this fully by 1892. 20

~ Cl)

0: W a. a.

SEYMOUR ST.

SMITH O'SHEA T.LAYCOCK

1921 1916 1889

j ------- - L J.C.~AY~OCK ::--

J.C. LA YCOCK 1920

GAIR

1919

-

ICl)

o 0: o -I

Fig. 9 Sub-division of Anderson's Property

1.889-1921.

Henry Anderson sold an adjacent block (number' 112

Seymour Street) to Mary O'Shea21 in October 1915 for £50;

she in turn sold it to Joseph Cyril Laycock22 in 1919 for -

£500. In 1920 Joseph Cyril Laycock purchased a small strip

of land from Henry Anderson to widen his residential block

of land from 12.6m to 14.5m. 23 Upon his death in 1920

Anderson's remaining property was sold to Na~haniel Smith

(baker) for £307. 24

The property owned by Thomas Laycock at 1.08-11.0 Seymour

Street was still in family possession when Joseph William

19N5vJ F:egi strar General's Office, Land Titl~2 Deeds, 427/267. 2°NSW Registrar Genel~al 's Office, Land Title Deeds, 503/923. 21NSW Registrar General's Office, Land Title Deeds, 1068/932. 22NSW Registrar General's O·ffi ce, Land Title Deeds, 1169/699. ~~NSW Regi stl'-ar General's Office'l Land Title DeE·ds, 1203/783. 24Registrar GpI"H:?!'·i:·d ~::. CH+:i.C:E~.! i._and 1"1'1::10.:' Def.'~cls, J.242/B7.


Laycock died in 1986. The property owned by Joseph Cyril

Laycock remained in family possession until it was sold by

Joseph William Laycock in 1984.

Site Geggrap~

The site is located in what is predominantly a

residential area of Bathurst. However, in the late

nineteenth century a number of Bathurst's early industries

were established between the town centre and Milltown

(South Bathurst). Examples of these industries include

Crago (flour mill); George Fish (foundry); Tremain's (flour

mill); and Maddy, Fleming and Mollison (sulky works).25

As the town grew, the residential areas spread outw~rd

from the central business district. Established industry

was gradually surrounded by residential. buildings as is

still the case in this area today. The residential homes

adjacent to Laycock"s are either single-storey semidetached

Victorian style cottages, two-storey Victorian style

terraces, or red brick Federation style cottages of the

early 20th century.

The Laycock site is reasonably flat, dropping

approximately lm from west to east, and reasonably level in

the north-south direction. 26

Three of the four buildings known to exist on the site

remained standing at the time the site was recorded in

1985 .. These include the factory, the garage built in 1925,

2~Greaves 1976: Chapter 10. 26Site Survey, appendix H: 132.

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I I I

and a closet originally with the cottage

(108 Str"eet) . Other" f th itE~ include

I two con rete pads that were associated with the cottage,

other COnCr"f:"te sI abs, a r-i" vetted (ship's) water tank, a

I number of motor car bodies, and chassis. Cokef or" the

I cupola was stacked on the southeast boundary of the

property adjacent to a large quantity of scrap steel and

I iron. A coal pile was on the eastern corner of the factory

and a large variety of scrap metal existed along its

I northeast side. A large patch of bamboo was growing in the

eastern corner of the site.

I The location of these major site features are detailed

I on the site plan (Appendix Jl: 157.).

I I I I I I I Fig.l0. View of Site, 1985.

Building's History.

The ock family owned, occupied, and worked in at

I I I

I I


least three buildings on the si tE!:

a) The Cottage

b) The Blacksmith's Shop/Factory

c) The Motor Garage

a)The Cottage.

Little evidence exists with regard to the size and

structure of the cottage in which Thomas and his family

lived when they first arrived f~om England in 1884, and

purchased in 1889. 27

When Anderson purchased the property from William

Farrand in 1874 the value had increased from approximately

£30 to £500 in 20 years. This increase would imply some

capi tal investment in the property prior to the

Farrand/Anderson sale, and the probability is that the

cottage was built in the late 1860's or early 1870's. Early

Rate Books show seven houses on allotments 19 and 20 in

1875. 28

The cottage was a brick structure with an open verandah

on the southwestern side in 1917 (Fig.11), and, according

to Clarice Irvine (nee Laycock), it was semidetached. 29

The verandah is shown covered with latticework in a

photograph of 1925. 30 The cottage

time between 1943 and 1949. 31

27Laycock 1985, appendix 15: 145. 28Ti ghe 1986: 1-29Irvine 1986, appendix A5: 78. 30Van Gelder 1925. 31Hill 1988, appendix A4: 73. 32Bour 1:: e , 1,988.

was demolished at a


Fig. 11 Portion of the Laycock Cottage (left),

and 'shop' (right), 1917.

b) ThE:' t'1Dtor Garage. (Fig. 12).

The motor" garage was built by the Laycock family in

cost of £282,34 probably in response to the

success of the Laycock elevator ~hich they manufactured

from 1919 to 1969. The Gar-age was leased on a "share plus

wages basis",3r!J but taken over again by the family around

1944. 36 The Garage (Fig. 12 ) was still being used by

Joseph William LaycDck as an office, store, and second

machine shop at the time of his death in 1986.

33Hill 1985 appendix A3, 55. k, n.d. financial records. k 1986, appendix Ab, 109.

ock 1986, appendix A6, 109.


""I

Fig. 12. The Motor- Garage, circa 1925.

c)Blacksmith's Shop/Factor-y'!'-

Ander-son's second blacksmith's shop (Fig.14) was

pur-chased in 1889 by Thomas Laycock and it was this shop

that the Laycocks wer-e to expand over- a per-iod of time

until it was to become a small manufactur-ing industr-y.

When Thomas Laycock pur-chased Anderson's Blacksmith's

shop it was r-epor-ted that

H ... they intend car-r-ying on the business on a much lar-ger- scale, and have completely r-efitted the old shop.H37

Figur-e 4 shows Ander-son's Blacksmith's shop as a slab

str-uctur-e, almost squar-e, with a single br-ick hear-th for-ge

possibly similar- to that shown in Fig.13.

Inter-viewees have mentioned the existence of a second

for-ge::5m and it is likely that the 1889 pr"ess

::S7Bathur-st Daily Times, 1889. ock 1985, appendi:: Bl: 113.

::S9Ir-vine 1986, ap ix A5, 84.


f"efer'encf2 to:

" ... carrying on scale ... ",4o

the business on a much larger

applied to the installation of the forge together with the

lathe, or" lathes, that Thomas br"ought with him from

En(;Jland. 4 :1.

Fig.13 Forge at Brigalong, Vic. 42

In 1897 TtIDmas Layc k mortgaged his property for £400

tD Ch MacPh 11 a',; t"11 s monE'y was not used in

pr"oper-tyacqui itiofl, it s assumed that Thomas and

W:illiarn put it into tending the huilding. 43 Extensions

incorporated a machine Thomas'

and a foundry (Fig.14).

4°Bathurst Daily Times, 1889. 41Irvine 1986, appendix A5, 84 and 86. 420'Neill 1987: 62. 43NSW 504/403. 44Irvine

i strar

1986, append x A5: 84.

Office,

office/gunshop,44

Land Title Deeds:, ,

-----

I I I

I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

39"

Evidence that machinery existed in the position indicated

in Figure 14 was found during site recording in

1985.4~The foundry is reported to have been in operation

in the location indicated by 1907. 46

The final major phase of development with the building most

likely occur"r"ed in 1917-1918 in preparation for the

manufacturing phase of the enterprise. In this phase the

skillion was extended along the northeast side, and across

the southeast end. Portion of the skillion was closed in to

house a gas engine to power the factory?47 and an

office/store was added at the rear CFig.15). The machine

shop and foundry were relocated to their present positions.

I(J)

~ " BLACKSMITH /" 0' ~

~ I )-0<

~ t--'\. Anderson 1889

STEAM ENGINE AND BOI~ Laycock 1892

Fig. 14, Blacksmith's Shop Extensions 1889-1892.

In the 1 ate 1940's or early 1950's, Joe Laycock

extended the office to the shape existing in 1985, and

enclosed the skillion between the 'smith's shop and the gas

engine room. 4E1

4~Gibson 1985, Interim Report: 1? 46Irvine 1986, appendix A5, 82. 47Hill 1985, appendix A3: 49. 4E1Laycock 1986, appendix A6: 99.

----.-------------------------------------------.." I I


...: GAS ENGI~E ,/ Cl) I ~ ~ --- - ---- - ---- ---- - ---I---/-1-~-X--:-:t---. o , ' , t

~ 11 ,~S~IT_H _____ FO_U_N_DR~ ___ ~A_CH_IN_E_SH_O_P_< ~1-

w r~ <}I~~=

Fig. 15~ E>:ttmsions~ 1918 ..

The number, arrangement and weathered nature of the

timber slabs on the front of the building would suggest

t.hat. t.hl:-:) t.i mber" st.ruc:t.uY""e that. Y""I2)t1lai ned in 1985

incorporat.ed some of t.he original timbers of the 1889 ,

Anderson blacksmit.h shop (Fig .. 4.).

, Bui 1 d:i" nq Ar-c:haef'::'.l.9.9.Y. ..

-When the site feat.ures were recorded in 1985, only

t.hree buildings e>: i st.ed. They were (a) t.he mot.or garage

( 1 925) , ( b ) a wat.er closet., and (c) the factory

incorporating the original blacksmith's shop.

The structural features of these buildings are as

follows;

(a) Motor Garage. (Figure and Photographic record-

Volume 3: 119-121)

This building (16.5 m x 9.3 m) is located in the

northern corner of the site with its length facing Seymour

Street and end adjacent to the northeast boundary. It is


4-1.

constructed in sawn hardwood, clad in corrugated galvanised

:i.ror\ , with a hip roof also in corrugated galvanised

iron.Eight skylights are let into the hip roof, and the

f I 00l~ is. concr-ete. There are windows in the southeast and

southwest walls, and a door in the centre of the southwest

wall.

The side facing Seymour Street has two large timber

sliding 'doors which close to a central jamb. The front

panel between the door and the northeast end of the

building has signwriting:

Mobiloil - make the chart your guide"

while the panel between the door and the southwest end of

the building has signwriting:

"Shell 1'1otor Spiri t"

This panel is shown in a photograph in a company brochure

with the signl-'witing "Chandler and Cleveland Cars".4<;> In

another part of the brochure the signwriting reads "Shell -

IrJell balanced spirit".\'So

Above the two doors is the signwriting:

J.Laycock and Son."

On the nort.heast wall of this building there is

signwriting:

"SHELL 1'1OTOR SPIRIT AND OILS"

(black on a yellow Background). Underneath this however~

and vel~y faded, can be seen the word "GARAGE" in 1 arge

(bl ack?) letters wi t.h a white

sign writing has faded badly

49Laycock n.d., appendix Ll, 203. \'S°Laycock n.d., appendix Ll~ 215.

shadow (Fi g. 12). All the

and is still just barely

I I I I I I I I I i I I I I I I I'

I I I

42.

visible.

A small shed 15 attached to the rear of the garage

toward the northeast end.

(b) Water Closet. Photographic Record - Volume 3~ 6,7)

This existed as an outhouse near the centre of the

site. This building would have been behind and to the

southeast of the now demolished cottage. The buildin~ was

constructed of sawn hardwood CI00 mm x 50 mm) clad with

corrugated galvanised iron on three sides and with a

similarly clad skillion roof. The ledged door was made of

vertical tongue and grooved boards, hung on two T-butt

hinges with an external barrel bolt. The pedestal was

ceramic with a modern cistern mou~ted on the northeast

wall. A basin with tap was mounted on the left (northwest)

wall. Plumbing to the building was galvanised iron and

within the building, copper pipe. Whilst this building

appeared incongruous with the site, it was obviously

associated with the cottage, and remained because it was

the only such facility.

(c) Factory. (Building Plan - appendix J2, and Photographic

Record - Volume 3~ 8-17).

This building (31.6 m x 8.6 m) was the oldest structure

on the site and has since been demolished. It was located

on the southwest boundary of the site with one end facing

Seymour Street. It was constructed of debarked hardwood

posts and sawn timber beams and rafters. Cladding varied

around the buiding from vertical timber slabs, to sheet


orrugated

The hip

galvani

roof wa lad

iron and tongue and grooved board .

in corrugated galvanised iron with a

killion on th n theast and southeast sides.

The hip

end to

piece of

attached

roof for

Fig. 16. Factory Building, 1985.

had been modified in two places on the southeast

provide for a tall piece of machinery or to mount a

machinery high in the roof. A second skillion was

to the southeast end of the building to provide a

the 1918 office/store. The only internal wall was

a dividing wall separating the office/store from the

remainder of the structure. Several ledged (some braced)

door on T-butt hinges were provided for access. Shutters

and timber framed windows provided light and ventilation. A

photograph in the company brochures shows an elevated

hoarding on the street signwritten with the words


4-4 •

"J. LAYCOCI< AND SON" .. eH ~2 This sign was found stored

in the motor garage, but it had been painted over.

The only incongruous construction within the main part

of the structure was a slight misalignment of the southwest

wall between the blacksmith's shop and the foundry (Volume

3: 10 .. ) .. In the blacksmith's shop the vertical circular

sawn timber slabs (200 mm x 40 mm) were nailed on the

outs:i. dE~ of the top plate, in the foundry and

machi nE"~ shop t.hey wer"e nii:d.l ed on the :i. nsi de. A si ngl e

I~emai ni ng post. from a post. and rail fence was in alignment.

with t.he blacksmit.h's shop wall along this side. This would

suggest a fence along t.he alignment (Fig. 14) which was not

removed when the blacksmit.h's shop was ext.ended.

This building contained four main funct.ional areas:

(1) Blacksmith's Shop, (i1) Foundry, (ii 1> 1'1achi ne ..

Shop and (iv) Office/Store.

(i)Blacksmith's Shop.

(Photographic Record - Volume 3: 18-29).

This part of the building covered an area approximately

8 m >: 9 m.

The southwest wall was of vertical split slabs without

windows or doors. The front, facing Seymour Street, was

clad with corrugated galvanised iron (with the corrugations

hori z ontal , and pai nt.ed gl'''een) over the original t.imber

slabs This wall had a stable door and two four-light

t. i mber f r- amed glazed windows with shutters and was covered

~1Laycock n.d., appendix Ll, 203. ~2Laycock n.d., appendix 1<2, 228.


45.

with a creeping vine. The wall extended to the northeast to

form

fence

with

The

a fence between the factory and the motor garage. This

had a double gate incorporated in it and was covered

corrugated galvanised iron (corrugations vertical).

northeast wall was clad with corrugated galvanised iron

(corrugations vertical). It incorporated a double entrance

door of vertical sawn timber planks of ledged design,

mounted on hand forged straps and pins. The floor was dirt.

Cii}Foundry.

(Photographic Record - Volume 3: 30-40.)

This was in the middle section of the building,

approximately 9 m x 10 m. The southwest wall was

constructed the same as this wall on the blacks~ith's shop,

however, it was slightly out of line with it, as already

mentioned. The northeast wall was clad in galvanised iron

(corrugations vertical), containing one door on T butt -

hinge and five timber framed windows. Outside ground level

was slightly above internal floor level and a small ramp

led from the door into the building. There was evidence of

bearing block mounts for a lineshaft (drilled holes,

packing blocks and grease) on three of the tie beams. The

foundry floor was covered with black loam, with a low pile

of ash southeast of the crucible furnace.

(iii)Machine Shop.

(Photographic Record - Volume 3~ 41-49.)

This area (9 m x 9 m) was adjacent to the foundry. The

southwest wall, continuous with the foundry wall, was of

I I


Vf!.~I, .. t i CHI SlHb const~uction with (v'J:i. th

1···\ C) I'·· :i. ~~ on t. .,:\ 1 ~.::, 1 co\ "1":. s;) ~ two w:i. ndows Hnd f.:\ de)!::lI'" o·f

con~";t:I'··uc::t :i. on" w:i. ndol-'Js; had been boarded up. The

nC)r·th(?';::\~;5t. wf.:\ll WHS ClHd wit.h tongue and grooved boards

':vev"ti c:al) with five t.imber framed windows and a door. The

wall was clad in 150 mm vertical timber

slabs with one six-light timber framed window. This wall

was only 3.3 m long" An internal wall divided the machine

shop from the office/storeroom. This wall (4.5.m) contained

two timber framed windows and a ledged door. The machine

shop floor was concrete ~approx. 50 mm) covered with dirt,

except under part of the skillion where it was dirt.· There

were two skylights in the roof.

(iv)Office/Store.

(Photographic Record - Volume 3: 50-58.)

ThE~ office (5 m n 3 m) was covered by a short skillion

on the southeast end of the workshop and divided in half to

provide a small storeroom. It was constructed of sawn

timber, clad on the outside with galvanised iron (vertical

cOlrrugati ons) and tongue and grooved boards. The office had

an i nternc"ll. lining of fibro-cement with no lining in the

store. There were two timber-framed glazed windows in the

external wall of the office and one in the storeroom (Fig.

17) • Ther·e was shel vi ng al ong thE~ southwest wall of the

stov"er··oom (some made from petrol can boxes) ~ and a bench on

the southeast wall.


Fig. 17, Rear View of Office/Store.

Machinery and Equipment.

Detail of the machinery and equipment present on the

si te in 1985 was recorded as part of the site survey.

LDcatiDn and identificatiDn data is presented in Appendices

E, G, H and J, and a phDtographif recDrd is included in

Volume 3: 59-97.

ThE' number<:~ in by j n this sectiDn refer tD the

E.

Wllf':11 Thomas

one lathe in the belongings that accompanied him. e3This

lathe is likely tD have been the Pitt Bros. lathe (2) which

was still in the building in 1985, as this was the only

lish made piece of machinery we found. If it is accepted

tha1: Thomas ock cDmmen ed in 1889 with a single forge

B3Irvine 1986, appendi


i::\nd tl, i 1 athF:?, th thE? e:-:pan un in 1892 would have

in ud t.he pur"chaSE? of thE) ",;hc"ilp i ng mach:i. n ), ""nd th

1 ng 4,

IrJe] l"'E:quip machi ne shc!p t E'!' wi th th inst llat

of

The machinery was uriginally driven by a central

/29~ 1/9 (Buildinq 1 an J 2, ) .

The foundry was definitely i alled between 1892 and

1907 as it was being run by Mr Pleasant by 1907. ee The

foundry cupola had been made by the firm from a discarded

steam engine boiler. (Fig. 18)

Fig.18 Cupola for Melting Iron.

There is no remaining evidence as to how this cupola was

'blown' . It could have been by bellows, or more likely by a

e4Irvine 1986, appendix A5: 86. eeIrvine, 1986, appendix A5:82 and 86.


fan driven from the central lineshaft. The cupola had a

stage built up the front~ for charging the furnace with

coke, pig and scrap iron. 56

The installation of an acetylene generator, and low

pressure gas welding equipment probably occurred between

1920 and 1923. Laycocks were the only firm in Bathurst with

oxy-acetylene welding facilities in 1925.~7

In 19:1.7-·19:1.8~ in preparation for manufacturing the

Laycock El evatol~ , the factory was rearranged, and the

machine shop e)·:tended. The lineshaft was moved to be

supported on tie beams between post pairs 1/9, 2/8, and 3/6

(Appendh: J3: 159),.

The 'Triumph lathe and the guillotine Cll) were

purchased around this time from the Rickett's Wagon Works,

and installed in th~ new machine shop.5sThe

drilling machine Cl) made from a converted horse-works was

in u!;:.e by 1923 fClr dl~ilU.ng railway line for building

supports.l':'S9~60

The second forge was not present when Joe was a young

person. 6'. It is relevant to note that the only forge

remaining at the time when the site was recorded had a

1'1(::~i'-\I,,·th Ini::\c:lIi::~ CI·f c\ c.I:i, ~:;c:c\I'·df!:~c:I ~:;t.e<=\m el"',gi nf:0 bc,i 1 (;)r" shell,

1'" .::\t I", €'!!I'· t h i!:\rl 1::-,1" i c k •

The foundry ceasec:l operation in approximately 1926,

after which castings were purchased from Lithgow.

56Irvine :1.986, appendix A5: 81. l':'S7Hill 1985, appendix A3:52. SSLaycock 1985, appendix A6: 107. 59Lay~ock 1985, appenc:lix 81: 113. 6°Hill 1985, appenc:lix A3: 55. 61Laycock 1986, appendix A6: 100.

I I I

Th f rm purch th electric welding

equipment west of the Blue Mountains around 1937. At this~

time they commenced purchasing arc welding accessories from

supplier

I The last machinery to be purchased was obtained at a

Factor"y in 1946. 6 ::5,64 A turret. lathe ( 5) was I lic auction, following the closure of the Bathurst Small

I acquired for the ory and a lathe, horizontal mill ng

machine, power hacksaw and slotting machine for the garage.

I I I I I I I

~ig. 19 View of Part of Machine Shop.

I I

Th mai rl machinery and equipment located on the site

detailed in the Building Plan (Appendix J2). Smaller

I equip t, tools and ac essories were generally associated

wi th the mach i ner"y /equ pment to wh i ch they bel , and

I ar"e shown in the photographic record Volume 3: 18-49,

I 62Laycock Invoices, 1937. 6'3BrcwJn! 1986, p I 138. 64C;:~n;Jill 1986, appendi:.: 12 141.

I I

-------

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I-

I I I

51 ..

59-97.

The blacksmith's shop contained one forge with a set of

hand-operated bellows not connected to the it. The forge

fl~C:Hn an electric powered blower located in the

motol'" Othel~ equipment included a

h an d "---op (;;)1'" <!!\ t (';-)d s;-hE)(-,-)t_ a portable forge, an

-anvil, two swage blocks, hammers, leg vice, chisels, sets,

blacksmith's tongs and a variety of pick heads. A water tap

was approximately lm to the northeast of the for-ge. A

coke-fired crucible furnace (probably for bronze, was under

the northeast skillion approximately 6 m northwest of the

door, and almost adjacent to the double entrance door in

the blacksmith's part of the building.

(cope and drag) were stored on

two crude racks above the foundry floor. The foundry having

closed in

storage of

1926 left this area to be used partly for the

stE) (,,!!1 rod i:i\nd bar -fc)r use :i. r"l thE! marluf2Ictul, .. t=-.! of

-elevators ~s well as general use.

The f 1 001'" of the workshop was scattered with scrap

i rCln/stE-)el • old rad:i.o chass:i.s were stacked

agi::\i rl~::;t tl"lf;' o-f-{~iC::f!:! wall. A w:i.d(? rangE' of drill~:::., r-e,,:\mers,

-1. DU 1

The lathes had many accessories

(c:I,\.\cks ') char"lgf!:) g<:::~i::\I'''S, clJtti n(] tuul s) b(?!";i ciF:! tl-IE!ill i::\nd ,,:il so,o

of raw castings of var:i.ous components.

Notable amongst the lathe accessories was a large timber

si:ructl __ we, of truncated pyramid shape, contain:i.ng change

gears for the P:i.tt Bros. li::\the.


Thf::! ("'lcetyI \::!nfi.~ PI ;;'Int .. 6>~;

(Appendix J4, and Photographic Record Vol Um0? 3~

101-1(7) n

The factory was supplied with low pressure acetylene

acetylene generator located outside the

the gasometer. The gas was used in

bottled oxygen gas supplied by Comox for

gas fl~om

bui 1 d:i. ng 'i

cClnjuncti Cln

an

neal~

~"i th

low pressure oxy-acetylene welding blowpipesn The acetylene

was produced in two generators (steel cylinders 170 mm

dia. x 330 mm). Each cylinder was sealed at one end with a

close fitting removable cap at the other. The cylinders

watel"

on their

into the

into the

e:\cetyl ene

(Fi g" 20) ..

gas

side and had two galvanised steel pipes

top of one side. One of these pipes fed

cylinder via a gas cock, and the other fed

via another gas cock to the gasometer

-In operation the cylinder was loaded with calcium

carbide through the end .. The cap was replaced and the water

cock openfi~d ..

produced 6cetylene gas clnd lime. The gas was fed from the

relevant generator to the base of the gas reservoir. The

gRS coc: k :i. r",

be i l:;;Dl cltf.'i!d

the acetylene lines allowed each generator to

frDm the system to allow refilling with

Interim Report: 16-19.

I I I I I


the it wa 1 i ndE:~I' Wi':\S

m ing and the other below ground level.

Fig, 20 Acetylene Generator

g':'Isometer (reservoir) consfsted of a galvanised

timber base and filled with water, with a second

I /1; I: cl

1 1 [ \/

th

, l\\ 11

I"~

I I

(700 mm

it.

L\, ·flc)at

I jf 1 tJI,PJ

I i

D a. 1300 mm) closed t one end and

bd1h .. AcptyJ f7'11 f f om the

, I.(:-:! b LUll' ( t !, le! bubbl

cull

A IJ 1'1 Lt. t. of th

\ 1 d I' t. nut tll

1,1, n t rH:;) u.p.. TI,

I (

I I I 1'1 i 1 nd up h " g. 1)

C] thr"ouqh h h of t.

I wat k and rose the water 1 1 nto th 9

th ough th h hi P of

I sp Ttli s 9 1 in

h f oCjf and erminated on three post ( 1, 3 and

I k arrestor was mounted on an

in the f oundF' area. Rubber hoses (vel'" perished)

I ec ed a blowpipe to the arrestor.

I I I I I I I I . 2 j etylEme at Rear of Building.

I q harHJ i

I I' t th III p " Br pFo\/i ded

(J ost: cl thE,' yq

I Mr CL k ernp 1 oyE~e ,

I 1 1 p yl f,'?! 1 t was used

unt e end of the second world war.

I I


---------- ----------------------------------------------,

55 ..

POIrJel~ SOl..\I'''f;''~'£~.

Over the period of its history the Laycock factory has

been powered by three main power sources:

a) s.;t.eam

Whilst there is no firm evidence? it. is most. likely

that portion of the money expended on the expansion in

1892 went. into the purchase of a vertical st.eam engine?

the only logical power source for the machinery at the

time. This engine stood in the southern corner in 1907,

to William's sist.er-in-Iaw.·· It had been

replaced by an internal combustion engine powered by town

gas by 1923 •• 7 The gas engine was located in the ~astern

corner of the building (Fig.16).

Before town supply of electricity came to Bathurst, the

L...aycocks h,,':\d installed tt',eil~ own d:i,r"ect cur"r"ent (?l(:::~ctrical

generator to supply light to the plant. Mr Hill identifies

only two otl''''E~I'' places in Ba"tl'lulr'S.;t at, th<:::~ tim(? with their"

electricity su~ply ThE~ Pi c:tl .. II·"e TIH7.,,,d:,I'''f:? c:me:! St

Sl:,ar','i.s;]aus' Coll€'!!ge.·EI

B2d:,h\..\r" s;t w(,?mt Cll"ltCI mUll i c i pi~l] electricity supply in

w:i,t,h

!JI'''r:d::'i:ilbJ. y c Cl I' " V ,.::~ "" t. E' cl

t.he 1930's with th~

6. I I'" V "i.1 I ( .... ! 1.98h'i apr'~·,·!r,d:i.>; f:::)5~ 9:3 . • 7H:i.l1 1.988, i::lPP<:::!",di;·; f~4:: 69 .. 6E1H :i. 11 'J 1. 988 'J i:~.F' p (,-:f I cl:i ;.; Pr'<1' ~ 6:3 «

69Greaves 1.976~ 1.30. '7°Ha,rcll-'Jal~E' and t'11'iilcl'l i n(?F·Y Di ary

:i, 1''', C h i:'\ I" <J (~ .. 7'::>

tCJ E~l E:ct:.I'" 1 c::.::,l mnt:. <:)1'" p C)~'JE?I'.. i 1''',

of c:1 Br"i t ish

~ I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Thomson-Hou 5HP motu~ (1

the southe~n cu~ne~ he factor n,,~ar thE~ office.

Each e was connected by a leathe~ b It to

linE'shaft 7.89 m long, the centre of the

machine shop and al i

and Phot.og~aphic Record Volume 3: 108-118.).

k f n:HTI pull mounted along th t.

five idlE~r shaft i th 1 eiath bel ing. Pulleys

i dl E'~r shaft directed power to each machine as requi~ed

Fig.22).

F g.22 Portion of Machine Dri em.

quar,tity of bDo jDulrnals, C:'lnd company

located in the office and the store. The

an Dr'd 1 CH;,:) ur i ng i l. I" of'ding in

F: 127 "'12[3) • d , pI

I I I

!I


others supplied by Joe Laycock, were used to analyse the

company's growth as set out in Chapters 4 and 5.

The books and journals were catalogued during 1987

using a computerised database (dBase Ill. This database,

containing 444 records, includes the bibliographical detail

for all these publications. A detailed list of these

publications is included in Volume 2, Appendix D~ 116-123.

I 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I I -I

58 ..

Following Thomas Laycock's purchase of the blacksmith's

shop flrom Henry Anderson in 1889, the management passed

through a number of stages until its closure in 1983. Over

the period of 94 years there are clear transitions in the

type of work done by the firm and the markets they served,

however, it would appear that the employment structure of

the firm changed little, if at all.

The effect of two periods of war, their relationship

with other similar enterprises in the town, diversification

into new technologies/markets and their contraction into a

final phase of general engineering combine together to form

the profile of this firm. Whilst it has shown periods of

'innovative thought, the firm shows a curious lack of

capi tal injection and modernisation which probably

contributed to decline in the face of competition.

Even though this decline, together with the untimely

death of the last owner, meant that the firm would close

and be sold-off, these very facts contributed to the

importance of this site as a unique example of Industrial

Archaeology.

Connah contends that the pressure from urban growth and

modern developers is,

" .•. less important in country towns because of the economic stagnation of many of them during the present century •.. Ill.

The facts are that Anderson's building and Thomas

l.Connah 1988: 127.


~- -~~----~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~----------------------------.

~39 •

Lc\ycock 's extensions were not demolished to make way for a

"model~n" post-wal~ factory_ Thomas's machinery and many of

the methods used at the turn of the century were still in

use in 1983. In essence those features of a small

nineteenth manufactory still existed in the late

twentieth century in the form that such a factory had taken

Management.

The Laycock enterprise was owned and managed by various

members of the family, commencing with Thom~s Laycock in

1889, and finishing with Joe in 1986 following his death.

When Thomas died in 1900 his sons William and Charles

managed the firm as LaycockBros. until 1917 when Charles

left to take employment at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory.

This allowed William to set up a partnership with his son

Cyril. In May 1917 the firm was registered as Joseph

Laycock and Son. 2 The name that continued until its

closure.

When Cyri I died in 1958, Joe and his mother were left

to manage the firm. While both Joe and Ellen are registered

partners from 1958, it should be noted that Joe is the only

" .... working shown on factory returns for

the period to 1963, and probably up to 1979 when Ellen

passed away.

Table 1, constl~ucted from General's4,

2Registrar General of NSW, Change of firm Name, 1917. ~Commonwealth of Australia, Factory Returns, 1958-1963. 4Registrar General of NSW, 1903-1944.


60.

Compani et:;\~; 'J and NSW Cor-por-at.e Affair-s

Commi ssi on".:> r'ecol~cls guide to t.he management.

str-uctur-e of the fir-m.

Thelr'e is some evi clence o'f tensions within the

manf.ilgemf:?nt stl~uc:tur-e just following Thomas:, ' death, when

John Laycocf.:: left to set up a bicycle business i'n William

Str-eet.7

NAME OF FIRM DATE PARTNERS DESCRIPTION

Thomas Laycock 8, Son 1889 Practical Engineers S, General Blacksmiths

Laycock Brothers 1903 William Engineers, Boilermakers ~( General Charles Blacksmiths

Joseph Laycock s( Son 1917 Wiiliam Engineers Cyril

Joseph Laycock S, Son 1936 vJi 11 i am Electrical and Radio Cyril Keppel St.

Joseph Laycock SI;; Son 1944 Cyril -Joe

Joseph Laycock S, Son 1958 Joe General Mechanical Engineers and Ellen Manufacturers

Joseph Laycock S, Son 1968 Joe General Engineers SI. Manuf actL\I~erS Ellen -

Joseph Laycock 8( Son 1971 Joe Electrical Goods, Engineers and Ellen Manufacturers

Joseph Laycock ~( Son 1980 Joe Electrical Goods, Engineers and Manufacturers.

Table 1. Laycock Management 1889-1986.

I nter-vi e~"ees indicated that. t.he Laycocks wer-e

r-easonable people to wor-k for- and highly skilled in their-

tr-acle, although they lackecl for-mal tr-aining,

~Registr-ar- of Companies NSW, 1962-1968. 6NSW Cor-per-ate Affair-s Commission, 1971-1983. 7Ir-vine -1.986, appendil{ A5: 89.

1'1r- Hi 11 who


61 "

was apprenticed to the Laycocks in the mid 1920's attests

to their friendliness and skills,

1'1r Hi 11

William

"he was a master tradesman. A man that could weld on the open of jol,oe a ::::;" shaft, and then take that shaft down and put it on the lathe, and turn it up to a pel,ofect sha-f:to ••. 119

classifies Cyril as a boilermaker and fitter and

(old Joe) as the blacksmith of the works. 10 His

observations are also confirmed by Mr Joe Chifley

(blacksmit!l) of Chifley and Sons CHavannah Street) when he

referred to them as o" ••• top class tradesmen •.•. ",11 and

Mr.Brown called them " ••• notable steam engineers ••• ".12

Employees.

Throughout the history of the firm it is clear that the

workforce was made up of members of the Laycock family who

supplied the skilled labour,13 and a small number of

full-time, part-time or casual employees who were mostly

unskilled.

There were times when the womenfolk of the Laycock

family also worked in the firm, or one of its offshoots.

Joe's sisters Norma and Dorothy both worked in the shop at

times, as no doubt '! did Cyril 's sisters. Norma worked in

the Electrical and Radio branch,14 and Dorothy in the

factory.15 William's sister-in-law,

SHill 1988, appendix A4: 62 and 64. 9Hill 1985, appendix A3: 57. 1°Hill 1988, appendix A4: 64. 11Chifley 1986, appendix B2: 114. 12Brown 1986, appendix 11: 138. 13Hill 1988, appendix A4: 64. 14Barnes 1986, appendix AI: 1 and 3.

Claroice, also worked

1~Commonwealth of Australia, Factory Returns 1946-1959.

I I I I

!I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I i I I I

62.

in the factory at times. 16

Outside of the family, evidence indicates that a

maximum of three other employees worked for the Laycocks in

the years 1941-1949. 17 No records were available before

this time. Only one employee is shown as being a skilled

worker. This is Mr John Wood employed as a fitter and

turner from 1965 to 1971. 18 The longest-serving employee

was Mr Ewin McMillan who worked as a labourer from 1949

until other employees worked as casuals

from time to time.

Laycock's apparently only ever took on two apprentices, Mr

Arch Hill and Mr Len Stokes. 20 Both men were apprenticed

to Laycocks in the 1920's in the early period of the

manufacture of the Laycock elevators and conveyors.

According to Joe, Mr Stokes' father supplied the lathe on

which his son was to learn the trade. 21 On completion of

his trade, Stokes took their lathe and it was up to -

Laycocks to replace it when he left. This is likely the

time that the Triumph lathe (7) was purchased. 22

Table 2 lists the known employees and their dates of

employment at Laycocks.

There was no trade union representation at Laycocks,

probably because they preferred casual unskilled labour

rather than union members.

The last permanent employee at Laycocks ceased work in

16Irvine 1986~ appendix A5: 88. 17Commonwealth of Australia, Factory Returns 1941-1963.· 1BCommonwealth of Australia, Factory Returns, 1965-1971. 19Commonwealth of Australia, Factory Returns 1949-1963. 2°Hill 1985, appendix A3: 48,49. 21Laycock 1985, appendix B1: 113. 22Hill 1985, appendix A3: 48.

I 1 1 ·1 1 I I 1 1 I ,I 1 1 1 I I 1 I I I I

1971 leaving Joe as the sole skilled hand within the shop.

EMPLOYEE YEARS TYPE CLASSIFICATION

Barrett J. 1946 casual Barnes N. 34-44 family Booty R. 1920's Bourk~ L. 42-49 Castle D. 45-46 casual family Ellerman F!" 60-61 junior Hill A. 23-27 apprentice Hutchings R. 1954 junior McClosky C. ? McMillan E. 49-63 labourer Meyers V. 49-50 assembler Pollard N. 1965 Potter D. ? Reece D. 46-48 ~

F:ogers T. ? Ryan N. 50-53 junior Smithers N. 46-49 assembler Stokes L. 1920's apprentice Wood J. 65-71 fitter ~( turner Woolf M. 1947 casual

Table 2 Employees 1920 - 1971.

Little E~vidence was available of activities within the

Laycock firm during the first World War. In 1914 the

business was managed by brothers William (49) and Charles

(32) as Laycock Brothers.23 Cyril was 22 years old at the

time and probably very actively involved in the day to day

work of the firm as he was to take over from Charles in

1917. Neither William nor Cyril served in the Australian

Army.24 Laycock financial records show that the firm

23Registrar General, Registration of Existing Business 1903. 24Australian Army 1988, JVC/NX 37461.


64.

continued to operate throughout the war period.2~,26 It

is reported that Cyril had a long period of illness at the

time, and it is possible that this illness prevented him

from enlisting, or left him medically unfit.27

The end of the first World War was very important to

thf!!! Laycocks. Charles had left the partnership and Cyril

had joined his father.2s Together they were actively

engaged in preparations for the manufacture of the Laycock

elevator, which commenced in 1918. According to

Laycock financial records, it was the immediate post war

period where the business entered some degree of a

slump.29 According to Cohen,

11 ••• The popul at i on of that of the district decline, but new emerging .•. ",30

the town was stationary, decreasing. Mining was in

agricultural patterns were

It is not at all clear why the business went through this

slump.

William died in 1939 leaving his son Cyril, then aged

47, to manage the firm. 31 By this time Cyril 's son (Joe,

:1.9) was actively involved in the firm's operations. He had

also joined the Militia, and in 1941 he w~s transferred to

the Australian Imperial Force and spent some of the war in

Perth (W.A.) on coastal defence work. 32 ,33

Immediately after William's death, and while Joe was away

2~Laycock, Journal Book 2 19:1.2-1915. 26Laycock, Journal Book 3 1916-:1.923. 27Hill 1988, appendix A4: 69. 2SReg~strar General of NSW, Change in Constitution of 'firm 19:1.7. 29Laycock Journal Survey 30Greaves 1976: 111. 3~N.SnW Registrar

1919-1922, appendix K1: 162.

~) .I;J. Laycock. 32Australian Army 1988, 33Barnes 1986, appendix

of Deaths,

SVClNX 37461. A1: 6.

Death CE~rtificate,

I I I I I I I I I I i I I I I I I I I I I

on military service~ Joe's sisters - Norma~ Jean, Dorothy

.. and Moira, worked in the factory.~4 Joe was discharged in

1944 and returned to Bathurst where his father brought him

into the partnership to fill the gap caused by his

grandfather's death"3~ ,36

During the second world war the firm continued to

operate its normal activities elevator

manuf actUl~e, steam plant repair, general ,machining etc.

Howevel~ in 1943 it acted as sub-contractor to the only

private business of its type in Bathurst - George

Fish and Co.- to complete two contracts for the Bathurst

Small Arms Factory.~7

In contrast to the Laycock factory it is reported that

the Fi sh 'f actory was,

.. commandeered .•..• They did a lot of stuff for the Army ....... 3EJ

Apparently the foundry and machinery capacity of George

Fish's Company was seen as important~to the war effort, and

was used by the Government as a production facility.

Al tel~nati vel y, it is possible that Fishs' bid for contracts

let by the Bathurst Small Arms Factory, which manufactured

.303 rifle parts, when its own machining capacity was

saturated. 39

Factory Returns of the period indicate that Laycock's

traded profitably throughout the war, and moved into a

34Barnes 1986, appendix Al~6. 35Au~tralian Army 1988, SVC/NX 37461. 36Registrar General, Change in Registered Particulars 1944. 37Laycock Journal Survey 1943, appendix K1: 181. 3EJFish 1986, appendix A2: 34 <also 34-38). :'~9Ca("'gill 1986, apper"ldi~': I2= 140.

I I I I I I

I I I

I I I I I I I I I

period of expansion immediat.ely after. 40

l\Iatt~lfe and Scope of Wqd:: u_

The! tool s $ equ:i. pment , component.s and part.s on site in

:1.985 provide some evidence as to the type of work done over

many years. El evatoF· castings, radio and electrical

components, mot.or vehicle part.s et.c. confirm various phases

of ~\!ork carried out. from t.ime to time, but give no

indicat.ion of t.he chronology of work done.

To determine the timing of various phases, and the

nature of work done in those phases, an analysis of a

numb(?r of financial records provided by Mr.Joe Laycock was

undert.aken. These records included income and expenditure

st.atements 1951-1958; invoices from suppliers 1932-33,

::;:;7-39; factory ret.urns (incomplet.e) 1942-1969; and journals

most of t.he period 1912-1985. The journals alone

consi st.ed of 8 volumes, each averaging 500 pages. The fact

1:.h c:\t. some did not. complet.e range of

consecutive years, and t.hat t.here was no access to cash

hooks; meant. that. a complet.e analysis of the financial

st.atus of t.he firm could not be completed.

Th(? volume of material aval1able dictated

procedure had to be adopted, t.o analyse the change

in t.he nature of work done by the firm.

A computerised dat.abase CdBase 11) was used to sample,

and later sort the work done for cust.omers shown in t.he

journals covering t.he period 1912 to 1969. The 1912 journal

4oCommonwealth of Australia, Fact.ory Ret.urns 1942, 1946-1959.

Government Statistition,

I I 67.

I contained the earliest account customer records, and it was

decided to cease the analysis in the year the last Laycock

I Elevat.or was produced (1969)? even though journal records

I were available to 1985.

Samples for account customers listed in the journals

. , I for each of the months February, May, August,

and November" • The sample therefore constitutes 33% of the

I total journal entries for the period concerned.

I The following data was recorded for each customer entry

in the sample:

I Customel~ Name

i i) Yeal~

I iii}The number of job entries for the customer for

I the whol e year· (1\10. ) • In the years 1912 to 1939

work was recorded in the journals under the actual

I date, with totals made up at the end of the month.

(Fig. 23)n -

I :

For this period it was therefore possible to

record the total number of jobs done for a

I particular customer over the whole year.

I 1. 942·-1 970, however, accounts were only entered on

a month by month basis. In these cases the maximum

I in the No. column should be 1.2. Some exceptions to

this exist i.e. Southern Mitchell C.C. in 1.961

I where multiple entries were made.

I iv) The cost of work done for the customer in each

of the sample months of February, May, August, and

I November in pounds. No entry of less than £1 was

included, fractions were rounded up (or down) to

I I

I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

·1 I I I I I I

.. ~.-.:~-:::=--: :'.:':' '~'-'.

68.

the nearest full pound value, and dollar entries

for 1966-1970 were not included.

. .:: .'::: .. - --_ .. :

! I 1 I i

I: -I I !

Fig. 23 Sample Journal Entry for 1919.

.. .::.: . .:..:.. .. ': . .. .. -.~ .

1;

I: .. !I

" , .. H H I:

11 I' li I: 11

'.

" -,

"'"

" u

"

v) The nature of the work done for the customer

at the time (Type of Work Done). This column

-represents a combination 6f work where there are

many entries for anyone sample month. Comments

often relate to the purchase of an elevator,

conveyor, or whitehead thresher.

vi) Elevator Purchase ~ All purchases of elevators

were included to ensure that the best possible

record of elevator sales was available. To allow

data to be sorted into elevator purchases, an

entry of Yes/No was included for each record. This

column is not included in the data presented in

appendi :.: K. Specific elevator sales were not

(, 0

<:3 t ./7. . b ,/ 0

:~ ,f). CJ .~ ... . a-:-o ~

I I 69.

I available after 1958 as the jobs were entered

under an invoice number. Entries of this nature

I were recorded in the Type of Work Done column as

I "El evator" ?" ..

I The database comprises 1318 records and is presented in

two forms in appendix Kn (1) in date order, and (2) as an

I alphabetical list of customers. Other data sorting was used

I to determine elevator/conveyor sales. It should be noted

that records for. the ye?rs 1924, 1925, and 1951-1957 are

I missing and that records for 1966-1970 apparently only

include elevator sales.

I An analysis of the "Type of Work Done" column in the

I Journal Survey K) reve,:,:!l s that beyond a

background of operations relating to blacksmithing

I (forging) , machining, and welding, several other phases can

be determined. TheSE! include (a) Agricultural Supplies, Cb) -

I Machinery Agency, (c) Metalling of Bearings, Cd) Steam

Plant Repair, (e) Elevator Production, (f) Casting

I Supplies, and (g) Welding.

I (a) Agricultural Supplies:

A number of entries between 1912 and 1917 indicate that

I during this period Laycocks were suppliers of agricultural

requisites such as oil, twine, nuts and bolts, knives etc.

I (b) Machinery Aqents:

I In the same period that vJere suppl yi ng

requisites they had an agency for agricultural

I machinery. Joe refers to them as agents for International

I I


--------------------------------------------

70.

Harvester Farm machinery.4~ The Journal Survey shows

references to the supply of Hastings Deering parts as well.

i c) l'1etall i ng Bear i ng§.l.

Worn out machinery bearings were replaced by casting in

place new "white metal" bearin<;;( matel;"ial (metalling). This

alloy was melted, either in the forge? or in the crucible

furnace

place?

often

(appendix E? No.17). After casting the new metal in

the bearing was then bored to size on the lathe? and

'scraped' to fit perfectly with the shaft. Bearings

in steam engines and early motor vehicle engines were

fitted this way. Laycocks carried out this type of work

between 1912 and 1942? by which time replaceable shell

bearings had overtaken the earlier type in vehicle engines,

and steam engines had all but disappeared.

Cd) Steam Plant Repair:

The firm carried out repairs to steam engines and

boiler plants in the period up to 1940. This work included

replacing tubes in boilers as they·corroded, provision of

cast firebars for boilers, and all types of repairs to

stationery, portable and traction steam engines.

(e) Elevator Production~

The production of grain elevators commenced in 1918 and

c'e",\sed in 1969. Details of this phase of Laycocks works is

provided in Chapter 5.

(f) Cast i nq§.:

It is important to note that whilst evidence clearly

shows that a foundry for cast iron products existed at

Laycocks between the turn of the century and 1923, no

4~Laycock 1985, appendix 15: 145.

I I 71,.

I speci 'f i c entries for cast iron castings are included in the

joul'''nal This does not necessarily mean that

I castings were not produced. Castings would have been

I machined to a finished item (part) which may have been used

for repair, or sold as a specific finished item

I i.e. an eccentric strap, or firebar for a boiler.

( g ) We 1. din g :

I The j oLlI'"nal survey did not produce evidence as to when

I various types of welding processes were implemented.

Journal entries were normally titled "welding". Welding

I entries cover the whole period of the journal survey

(1912-1970) and this general term t-JOu1 d include forge

I welding~ gas welding, and electric arc welding.

I Financial Growth.

I The journal survey provided a sample of income from

account customers over a broad period, but this would need -

I to. be compared with cash income, mat~rial costs, overheads,

and wages to provide an overall analysis of the firm's

I financial status.

I The f 01 1 Olr,I:i, ng glr'aph, based on the journal sUI~vey

avel"'aged ovel~ a full financial yeal~ , an d some factcwy

I returns provides a guideline to income growth over the

period 1,912/13 to 1964/65. (Fig. 24). The discrepancy in

I the years 1,945/46-1949/50 can be attributed to the fact

I that the journal survey is only based on a sample of income

without a cash component, and the factory returns would

I include a cash income component.

The graph shows expected decline in the period of the

I I


...,,, ./ ... :. ...

two World Wars and for the depression around 1930. Other

features include an unexplained slump in 1921/22 and a

ped.od of expansion from the early 1940's until 1950. This

expansion can be clearly attributed to the gl~o\o'Jth in

elevator/conveyor production (Chapter 5) ~ and \-'Jas 'foll cH"led

by a stable period between 1950 and 1960.

8

7 o o o ;:;6 Cl)

Cl Z6 :;)

o 0. 4 I

W ~3 o ()

~2

SOURCE:

--- JOURNAL SURVEY

1916

Over

FACTORY RETURNS

. 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945

YEAR

A /1 / , / ,

\ A '1\ , , \ A

" \ 1\ " V \ I " \/ I

1960 1966

Fig. 24 Laycock Income 1912-1964.

1960 1965

the long period of their operation in Bathurst the

Laycock enterprise has not only successfully transformed

from a blacksmjths shop into an integrated manufacturing

but they have also shown periods of innovation

and diversification that might not be expected of such a

small firm.

It is clear that Thomas Laycock established the "new"

I i I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

shop in Bathurst in such a way as to ensure that it was

capable of more than just traditional blacksmiths work. The

advent of readily available retail hardware made by mass

the level of technol og:i. cal

innovation in farm (and town) machinery, and the reduction

in the traditional sources of blacksmiths work

shoeing, carriage fittings, wheel tyres, etc.) were clear

pointers to the decline of the blacksmith as a financially

viable

change

enterprise. Thomas, probably through knowledge of

in England, e}:tended the 'shop' in Bathurst to

include machining capacity to cope with the technical

demands of the new technology (steam plants, modern

agricultural machinery, mining machinery, etc.) that was

being implemented on the farms and within industry

throughout the district.

Thus, the first innovative stage of the firm's growth

""Ias essential to the survival of the firm .. Records

(appendi :.: K) clearly indicate that··~he work of the machine

shop was a predominant function carried on by the firm in

the period 1912-1918.

Outside the establishment of the machine shop and their

manufacturing phases, the following innovations were part

of the firm's growth and development: Ca) the foundry, Cb)

o>:y-acetyl enf..~ welding, cc) the motor garage, Cd) the

electrical and radio branch, and (e) electric welding.

The firm's diversification into various activities is

detailed below in terms of the foundry, welding and the

electrical branch and shown on a timeline in Fig. 25.

( a) The. Foundl~Y.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 I I I

7·<1· ..

There is no definite evidence to show exactly when the

foundry commenced, but for reasons already given it is most

likely to have been part of the 1892 extension. It was,

howevG~r' 'j in operation by 1907 under the control of Mr

Pleasant who was not related to the family.42 The foundry

continued until the mid 1920's and it would appear that it

had reverted to Laycock control by that time. 43 While

there is no conclusive evidence as to when Laycocks took

over the foundry it would be logical to assume that this

occurred in 1917 or 1918 in preparation for the manufacture

of the Laycock elevator which contained many cast iron

components. One product produced in the foundry~ and

invent.ed

Cl·f wi I'-e

fences. 44

BLACKSMITHING _t-----------------MACHINING +_---------------_

STEAM REPAIR 40_---- --.. FOUNDING

ELEVATORS

OXY-WELDING

THRESHERS

GARAGE

RADIO BRANCH

ELECTRIC WELDING

EXTEND MACHINING

POT. GRADERS

~----....

..

1890

..

- ..

+--~

1990

Fig. Timeline of Innovation.

by William at the turn of t.he century was a type

l5tl'''ai nF.~r- (F:i. q. 26) use in tensioning wire

42Irvine 1986~ appendix A5: 81, 82 and 86. ~3Hill 1988, appendix A4: 61 and 67. 44Irvine 1986~ appendix A5: 82.


Fig.26 Cast Iron Wire Strainer,

produced by the Laycock Foundry, circa 1906.

(b)Oxy - Acetylen~ Welding.

Laycocks were the first firm in Bathurst to introduce

the process of low pressure oxy~acetylene welding. 45 ,46

The installation of this system meant that welding

processes, normally carried out in the blacksmiths forge,

could be readily done "on the bench" and without

necessarily dismantling the component to be welded from its

associated equipment. The welding equipment could also be

used to heat small items for bending or forging thus

providing a second alternative to using the forge.

Thi process, whilst requiring skills in its own right,

was easier and much more convenient than using the forge.

ock 1985, ""·Hi 11 1988,

appendi}( 15: 1,+6. i >: A4: 62.


6.

There was less kill required by the operator to regulat

the flame and ontrol the welding proces. The highly

developed skill the blacksmith required to weld in the

orge flame were no longer necessary. For very large

welding jobs where the oxy-acetylene flame was insufficient

to heat the item to be welded the job had to be done by

forge welding.

Fig. 27 Commercial Oxy-Acetylene Plant, circa 1930. 47

The low pressure plant was in operation by 1923. 48

Calcium Carbide for the acetylene generator was available

in Australia before the turn of the century for coach and

cycle lamps, but the Laycock plant would have been

established after 1910 when Australian made bottled oxygen

came onto th

factory was labelled,

47Commonwealth 1930. 48H 1

Oxygen

The equipment at the ock

Co.Ltd, any brochure, circa


77.

COMOX BRAND

C.O. and A. Ltd.

which was the trade name of Commonwealth Oxygen and

Acessories, Ltd. (1920).~o This evidence would suggest

that the plant was established between 1920 and 1923.

The Laycock system was similar to commercial welding

plants (Fig. 27.), but of homemade manufacture (refer to

photograhic record pages 101-107).

~OSavage 1974: 24.

I I I

qu


Th in of

cl 1,

I: oIl in

Seplunhef. Iq 34 TilE BLOWPIPE

A DRAMA IN FOUR ACTS.

ACT 1 .... Depression.

(lIU .... · a ""Itt~t·:lflinl! (·Iu~:"'-lnul Irt'f4

'1'1 ... \ ilia!!,' .mill" .1",,,1 •.

\",1 .1,,,,,1 •. a",1 .la .. ,I •. allcl .la ... I", and .la ... I,.

\ucl .la",I •. aucl .la",I •. a",1 ,.la".I •.

ACT 2 .... Inspiration.

ACT :1 , ... Action.

11 .. 1:0 .. ::11. a U I.'H 1'\ \\.·I.li,,;! 1'111,,1

(11I ... lrllrtion" ;,:i\.,u fn-.·)

\".1 fouutl IIIal jol •• 1 ... ·.1 Inro .... 1 a"'"

\\ efT (·a ... ~ a .... 'Hld.1 IH',

\\'hil,1 ,Imulill!! '1I"alh Ihal ,·h.,.11I1I1 tr ....

If" 11101I;!1I1 ""l h .. " h,' ",1111.1

Brill!! hi" .. ltI ,.1", .. rillhl "l' In .Ialc'

\ 1It1 .. ha,,!!,' 1 .... 1 I i",.,. I .. !! ..... l.

ACT 4 .... Realisation.

TI .. ,\ ',., c·ltl ;I\\a~ Ih.- .·hc·:o-(IIIII Irt· ...

rH Io!i't" tit .... u,illt~ rOOlll:

rl, .. "'llIiclt nu IHIt~t'r -larul~-h.· run--

1

1 d i Ill]


79.

I~n<:)ther initiat:i.v(? the Lci\ycocks the!i 1'-

diversification into the fledgling Radio and Electrical

industry in 1934 while continuing with the Engineering

works This branch was established in premises at 5321

r<eppel Street ') and according to records sold Australian

General Electric, and Hecla electrical products (irons,

radiators? etc. ) together with S.T.C., A.G.E.,

and Sherwood radio equipment. 62 The following captions

characterised their advertisements in 1935,

"Say 99 when your radio is sick"

(the phone numbe~ and postal box number were both 99)

"Get fE'c,.thers can get the big

off a cat? No! But at Laycocks you 5 ... ", (their five main brands)

"modern living is electr-:i.cal living".63

Joe's sister- ,Norma worked in this shop from 1934 to

employee, Mr Andy Ander~on, also worked in the

was registered in Cyril 's name. According to

1'··~?col'··ds the shop was rented by the Laycocks in 1939 from a

to trade throughout the period 1934-1944 when the branch

finally closed. 57 The effect of war on supplies to the

firm is cited as the reason for closure. 58

~2Fegistrar General Particulars 1936.

of NS~I!,

~3Laycock 1935, advertisement draft. ~48arnes 1986, appendix A1: 1-2. G~Laycock 1939, bank deposits. G6Laycock 1935-1938, journal. ~7Ragistrar General of NSW, Particulars 1944. 58Laycock 1985, appendix L1: 146.

Chan!]e

in Regi stel'-f.:!d

in


BO ..

Evidence that William and Cyril were prepared to take

tf2chr,ol oqy '} into new processes is

provided in theil'·· electric arc welding

in the mid to late nineteen thirties. According

to Joe Laycock, they were the first factory in Bathurst to

take on arc welding. 59 According to Joe,

" ..• they bought. some t.o weld a split. in t.he firebox of a St.eam Tract.ion Engine. This saved days of work and labour as t.o do same before meant. t.he removal of all t.ubes and t.he patching by rivets of the crack. This also meant the beginning of the end of the blacksmit.h •••• ".6o

Ar.:: \.-\Ias the case with t.he implementation of gas welding

plant., t.he arc welding operator needed less skill to

effect.ively use the equipment. (for general purpose work, at

least.) and as ment.ioned in the above quot.e, t.he work

could be done in-sit.u, t.hus saving much labour.

Progl'-essi vel y, the blacksmith's ItJol~k in a "modern" shop

lA/aS being replaced by new, advanced technology, thus making

his job redundant.

The earliest. evidence of the Laycock ownership of the

arc welding plant (which was still on the site in

1985) is in an invoice dated 1937 where the firm Electric

Control and Engineering are shown as supplying an electrode

carrier and welding glasses. In the same year Robert Bryce

are shown as supplying electrodes to the Laycocks. 61 The

fiF·st EI'1F a.c.

59Laycock 1985, 6°L.ayc:ock 1985, ~~·L.aycock 1937,

electric arc welders were manufactured in

appendi:·: appendi :-: invoices.

16: 15:

14-8. 1.4-6.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

81.

1922, and the company expanded into larger premises in

1928. 62 It is therefore concluded that the Laycock welder

was purchased between 1928 and 1937.

No further diversification into new technologies is

evident once the elevator manufacturing phase (Chapter 5)

had passed at the end of 1 cl69 .. The firm moved into a

quiescent phase until Joe moved his light engineering

opera~ions into the motor garage in 1983 , and the factory

closed.

Relationship With Other Industries in Bathurst.

Over the period that Laycocks were active in Bathurst

(1889-1983) ~ they competed from time to time with various

firms in regard to the trades they offered. From 1889 till

1900 they competed with at least eleven other blacksmiths

(Fig. 2).63 This had dropped to eight by 1906. 64 By

the end of the second World War only three firms were known

to be carrying out blacksmithing work - George Fish and

Co. <Bentick Si: .. , established 1862) , Chifley and Sons

<Havannah St .. )65 and Laycocks .. By 1980 Laycocks were the

only blacksmithing firm remaining in Bathurst.

The foundry at Laycocks (1892-1926) had compet.ition

IfJi th the George Fish and Co. foundry (1900-1930) ,66 and

the Robert Bl ai I~ Foundry <Havannah St.). Laycocks were

definitely purchasing castings from the G.C.Morris Western

Foundry at Lithgow after their own foundry closed in

62Sa vage 1974: 45. 63Bathurst Federal Directory 1900: 106. 64Count.ry Trades Register, 1906: 1? 6:'!'iFi sh 1986, .::tppendi:-: P12~ 25-27 .. 66Fish 1986, appendix A2: 14 and 32 ..


82.

1926. 67 These facts suggest that~ Fish and Blair had also

closed by the mid 1920's.

The degr'ee .J:. o. compet it. ion to Laycocks in terms of

machining capacity is not easily

Directories from 1886 to 1906 only list two firms as

engineers/machinists at anyone time, but it is clear that

the blacksmiths and foundries may also have had some degree

of machining capacity as well. For el·: amp le

advertisement in 1886 shows that they were

"iron and BI~assfounders,

Blacksmiths."6El Engineer-s

Bl ai r 's:.

and General

This was also true of the Chifley and Sons works, which in

1985 had lineshaftinq in the r-emains of their building in

Havannah Street.

By 1900 George Fish and Co., and Laycocks are listed as

thl-:? only Engineers in the town. 69 Engineering capacity

was also available at the Railway (Permanent Way) workshops

in Railway Pde., following their est~blishment. However~ it

likely that the majority of their capacity was directed

to the maintenance of railway rolling stock, and therefore

had little effect on demand for work at Laycocks and

Fj sh:,; .. 70

It is cl 1;'::)'::11'" t.l·lf:::r", ·t·.h<:~.t r.3~?or"ge Fi sh ant.! Co .. '}

" ..... th(? 01 de~;t. ], i mi ted company in j\.!&:VJ South !;JaJ. (·?:)s;

st i 11 I'·unn i 1'19 tl'l(?' same busi nesss undel~ the samE:) naHH:~'n 11 11 71 .,. 72

had been the major competitor to Laycocks over at least 70

67Hill 1985, appendix A3: 50. 6ElBathurst and Western Districts Directory 1886: 30. 69Bathurst Federal Directory 1900: 117. 7°Hil1 1985, appendix A3: 53. 71Bathurst District Histor-ical Society 1972: 23. 72Govan 1933: 61.


Ef:::; "

This company commenced in 1856 and

11 ••• bui 1 t up onE-~ of the 1 argest concel~nf::; of its kind CHxtside the env:i.I'"l::lns o·f Sydney."" 11'7::$.

on the corner of Bentick and Russell Streets. By 1900 they

had about 100 employees'74 compared with about five at

Laycocks. At the turn of the' century they had buildings

covering half an acre and were manufacturing a wide range

of agricultural machinery and equipment, particularly

Their advertisement in 1900 was considered by Ms. Kate Fish

as " ••• us ing a bit of their" imagincltion.H."'7'7

As with the Laycock factory, the whole family was

involved in the work ,'7San d relatives of the Fish family

were also employed. Patrick Chifley, a cousin, was employed

as a blacksmith.'79

Whilst it is not surprising that Laycocks had no union

r-epresentati on, due to its small size, it is important to

note that the same situation existed at George Fish and Co.

according to Kate Fish. so ,s1 There was however, within

the workforce some communist agitation that gave the Fish

management some concern after the war S2 .

'73l'1orri son 1888. -?4Fi sh 1986, appendil-: A'::'n

~. 14. '7elFish 1986, apPE'ndi :-: A2:! 19. '76Fish 1986, appendi :.: A?· 1 ::; clnd 19. '7'7Fish 1896, apPE'ndi x A?· ~ .. 15 and 17. '7SFish 1986, appendi :-: A:;::: 26. '79F:i. £-h 1986, apPE'ndi>: A?n :;::6 and 27" sOFi si"', 1986, appendi ;.: A2: '"7r-=!,

• .: ...... , n

E':l1Fi sh 191:l6, appendi ).( ?i2: ·<i·0 .. 1132Fi sh 1986, app0:~ndi )-( {-'!2:: 39,40.


84.

ock that the relationship between the

two firms was a friendly and co-operative one. 93 This is

"':'~~m ior ,\tASSEl". H,.l.RRiS .x CO,

5·triPN'rs an..! \\'innowers ~';:'tumr Jump Plnu;:h::: \\ indf11ilL<.. et.:.

C3rri:l:':c~

BugJ:ic$ Sulkies \\·3;:-gon~

1 rollies

al)d GE:I)€ral El)gil)E:E:rS ...

(roil Founder!-

Ca5tin,!!!' Of E""C'rr D("$'ri~tion

BI:H:t..!'mith!"-Implement .1\\3ker!'-

............... BATHURST, N.S.W.

Fig. 29 Fish Advertisement, 1900194

confirmed by Mr. Arch Hill,e~ and aoe's sister Norma. e •

the mid 1940's the Fish industry had contracted into

what aoe Laycock descr" i bE.~s a.s " ... more of

and had closed in

93Laycock 1986, appendix A6: 110. S4Bathurst Feder 1 Directory 1900: 80. eJsHill 1988, appendix A4: 69. e6Barnes 1986, ap ix A1: 10.

ock 1986, appendix Ab: 110. 1986, appendix A2: 23.

t.hE? early

hardwal~e

1980's.ee

I I I I I I

!I


8~::j "

5. THE LAYCOCK ELEVATOR.

"The Laycock Elevatol~

Joseph La'lcock and Son, and is being used with of the Commonwt~.:;\l t.h" ":I.

is being manufactur-ed by Bathur-st~ NSW, Austr-alia, satisfaction in all par-ts

Ther-e is no doubt that the most successful innovation of

the Laycock enter-prise was the manufacture of Laycock

eJevator-s and conveyor-s between 1918 and 1969. This phase

also r-epr-esents the final outcome of its tr-ansition fr-om a

st mpl e blacksmith's shop into a small manufacturing

industr-y wher-e separate pr-ocesses wer-e focussed towar-d the

pr-oduction of a r-elatively complex piece of machiner-y. The

Layceck elevator- was specifically designed to lift bagged

goods for- stacking, loading onto tr-anspor-t vehicles and

unloading.

A conveyor- was usually used linked with an elevator-.

Goods placed on the conveyor- could be tr-anspor-ted

hor-izontall'l to r-each the elevater-- for- 1 i fti ng. :2 (sE~e

Fig. ::::;:?)

Initially all components wer-e manufactur-ed in Laycock's

own but later- the castings for- some components

wer-e pur-chased fr-om sour-ces outside Bathur-st.

During this manufactur-ing per-iod the fir-m diver-sified

into the manufactur-e of thresher-s and fr-uit gr-ader-s for the

agr-icultur-al i ndusty-'l. These pr-oducts only evel~ a

minor- par-t of total pr-oduction.

Manuf actUl~e of elevator-s and conveyer-s designed for

:l.Laycock cir-ca 1955, appendix L1: 203. ~Laycock cir-ca 1955, appendix L1: 205.

I I I 1r,1--, I r-,

h cl ] I, c un 1-, rn Th qu

I 11 n CJmmod

el atDr- dr !""i d -~

I df~'fnElnd

k n 969.

I I I I I I I

Fig. 30 The First uc~ F evatDr, lqj

I I it e)f

d I h 1

I h I] 1

k b

I I In eent c t

I -fru CJ

I I


-----------~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-.

87.

transport to mill or market. The process was quite labour

intensive, involved? and costly. In regard to wheat,

"Th(~ man f i 11 i ng the bag had to I~am the I-'Jheat in to get three bushells in each bag; ••• The bags did not last long ••. and many bags were further damaged when the twine was cut for emptying bags into silos."3

In the same period the ready availability of improved

machinery allowed the farmer to increase

farming capacity from an average of 20 acres in 1840 to

over- 100 aCl~es in 1882 with a corresponding grain output

that nevertheless still had to be bagged. 4 The harvester

invented by McKay in 1884, which bagged the wheat as it

moved through the crop reduced some of the labour content

of grain bagging. Their introduction was not universal, and

the increasing si ze of the wheat crop meant that bagging

I~emai ned a significant farm activity into the mid

nineteenth-century. Once bagged, the grain had to be loaded

onto wagons (commonly 180 bags per load in 1893)? or from

1910 on, onto trucks,and transported to a suitable storage

spot where the wagons were unloaded and the bags stacked,

or "lumped" (Fig. 31.) onto railway wagons at a

I~ai 1 head.l:!'l

In this process bags were un16aded from the wagon onto

a platfrom scale, IrJeight stamped, and then "lumped" onto

the rail wagon. A similar process was again necessary at

the mill where wagons were unloaded ready for processing.

el evatol~

3Wheelhouse 1973: 116. 4Jeans 1972: 205. ~O'Neill 1987: 86.

was designed to reduce this


c::,bDUr" i ntensi ve WD!'"k n 1 in th ndustry, b

ISD bi::igged commodities. ThE:?

mechani SE?d chain conveYDr' on an nclined and

ad ustable fr'ame, l~educed th~2 amount of manual

lifting requi l~ed to load and stack bags. The addition of a

mec:h conveyor meant that bags could be unloaded from

a road truck on one side of a railway station platform and

Fig. 31 8ag Lumping ••

be transported to a rail on the Dth side {DF

e;.:ample, with a much reduced manual effort. The elevator

and cDnveyor a, valuable addition to any

mi 11 , Siding, farm, Dr other industry involved in

handl ng bag (and other) gDods. Dcks claimed a 50 t

70 per cent saving on manual handling meth n an 1


89.

company brochure. 7

No detailed evi dencE:~ was available to determine the

SOUlr'CC~ of the design for the Laycock Elevators and

Conveyors. However, from a reference in The Western Times~

"The authol~ o·t: this Ci\rticle saw ~.t IrJOI~~::ing tl-d.s week, and with three other Laycock American - type bag elevators, it revolutionised grain handling at the mill",a

it can be concluded that the Laycock Elevator was based on

a design from Ameri cc:~ 'I possibly one published in an

Amer-i can agl~ i cuI tur al jOl.\I~nal. The design was claimed by

the Laycocks to have been,

11 ••• devel opE'?d ':;Ind desi gned by pl~ act i c;",l mt~n ." ••• to f::'Je eCILtal t.e] t.h<-:.-! t,.\tCtr"1 cl I S best. JI er

According to Clarice Irvine, her uncle William Laycock

i nv~?nted elevatol'" himself. 10 This is considered

unlikely for two reasons~

i) They did not patent the Elevator Design.

One might have expected the Laycocks to have patented a

design, if it was unique" Tt is clear" that l>Jilliam ;"\rId

Cyril knew and understood the Patent System because

they patented the Whitehead Thresher in 1922, only four

01'" s;o '/E:~i:'.~I'-S after" "d(7:~\::~i.gni\'lrJ" thE:~ Laycock Elevatol~.

:i. :i. ) Earlier patents for grain elevating devices already

7LaycDck ei I"ca BrochLtre= 5 ..

1945,

aWestern Times 1969.

Elevators and Conveyors,

9Laycock circa 1955, appendix L1: 203. 1°Irvine 1986, appendix A5: 83.

CDmpany


eNisted.

this would not prevent Laycocks from patenting a

ne!·\! desi gn ~ it does mean that they would have to prove

a unique variation within their design? which they did

not seem to have been able to prove.

The earliest Australian patent entry noted was issued to a

I'k'.White in 1906 for an "Elevatc)l~ for loading I-'Jheat into

wagons."l.l. Other early patent entries are provided in

Table 3.

DATE SURNAI'1E NO.

1906 White 6092

1911

1911

1912

1912

1913

1913

1914

1915

1916

1916

1916

1916

1918

1918

Stansmore P757

Hindley P2140

Hindley 6913

Stansmore P6955

Hutchinson 8257

McFarlane

Hennessey

Ronaldson

Gr-egson

Far-mer-s

Mcl<enzie

Dar-cy

Hopkins

Cal dlrJell

1'0086

13205

17409

237

772

2456

2733

6369

6924

DESCRIPTION

Elevator- for-, loading wheat into wagons

Loading wheat

Gr-ain bag elevator-

Por-table elevator

Wheat loader-

Loading and unloading vehicles

Bag loader- for- vehicles

Elevating tr-ack

Stacking elevator-

Elevating pr-oduce dur-ing stacking

Elevator-

Sack elevator-

Wheat bag stacker

Bagged pr-oduce elevator

Elevator- or- conveyor-

Table 3. Early Elevator- Patents.

1.1.Commonwealth of IndeN, 1904-1912.

Classified Subject Matter-


<:y 1. .

The mc-dew desiqn f eatul"'es; o'r: the Laycock Standard

El evatol~ are visible in Fig. 30 and detailed in the drawing

in appendi }: J5 (Volume 2: 1.61). The lower frame on wheels

provides a portable platform \rJh:i, ch supports two other

lattice-structured frames top gantry and the bottom

Both these gantries pivot at a point close to

their common junction. The lower gantry can be adjusted to

a loading p6int close to the ground, while the top gantry

can be I~ai sed from a horizontal position upward to reach,

for e},:ampl e, the top of a bag stack. 12 Bars mounted on

wheels and connected to continuous chains move along the

gantries to transfer goods from one end to the other. Goods

may be loaded '! or unloaded, by reversing the direction of

movement of the chains. Elevators and

classified by the height of lift.

Laycocks manufactured a wide variety of machines, as

follo\r~S:,;

(i)

(i i )

(u. i )

" , \:1. v,

Thr~ Laycoc::k St.andiard El evat.ol~ ,

The Staight Gantl~y Type,

ThE' Speci cd, Balanced Types A Co\n d B,

The Laycock Midget. Low Loader, and

(v) Specialised Designs to Suit Applicat.ions.

Machines were available in a wide range of lift height

sizes from approximately 2.4 rn to 1.0.9 rn, and desiqned for

a wide range of materials such as wheat, wood~ coal,

12Laycock circa 1955, appendix L1.: 21.6.

,I

I . 1 'I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I' I I I

92 .

tomatoes, hay and wool bales. 13

Conveyors were made of a fixed horizontal gantry on a

portable frame. They worked in the same way as the

elevator.

An example of the integrated application of elevators

and conveyors to the loading of ships is provided in Fig.

32 overpage.

13Laycock circa 1955, appendix L1: 207-215.

- - - -

TI ,... . • .Cl

("l t··J

v :u ., I1J 0 0. 1:::1 c: 0 n I.Ii ill I1J 0. 0.

-h H ., -I :J 0 ., I.Ii 3 C r+

IJ1 11' n r+ I-'

0 I-'

3 !lJ 1:::1 1-' r+ !lJ -..0 ,.... :l t·.J 0 '< to :J

0. -h ., 0 !lJ ., t ,.... (JJ :J '<

l.Ci 0. to :J

I1J ,< I 11' ., 0-0 C .,

- - - - - -

PRopOSED SYS TEM OF

INSTALLATION FOR SACA' WHEAT

ELEVA TORS, AND CONVEYORS,

rt1~ SYDNEY HARBOUR TRUS T AT 6(..£"t1l:: ISllINO WH€IIT SHlfOS

~ IN tlCCORqANcr WITH rtf, SY%Nt:Y HIIRSOUR

TRUSTS OR. N·:t11?p,- ZBS/

t::!!!.!£ ~f'.(~;'=fA- wdA_'"

p .... - ... .f-~·tlJ IN 4U fill .. fin) !..l./!;!!!" tf!. I'A, T_"".,.,. , ... e_fl/,..".

... h:= r_,_, H~ <~ Y- 1',(, ~....!Jry, H.C-',h ... ,. r;."i'.

- - - - - - - - -

..J.P.VAN GELDER. &. Co.LTo. - MLLING El'GlNEERS.~

- -


Cnnveyor-s wer-e available in twn main types~

!\Ion -f I'" i:."Im(~d conveyol'''s '} driven by the motive

power- on an attached elevator-,

ii) Framed conveyors, w:i,th a frame to suppor-t a

motive unit. to make the elevatol~

self-sufficient~

and in sizes up to 18.3 m long.

In 1948/49 Cyr-il L.aycocJ.:: was involved in adding a

special br-aking system for- addition to el evator"s, to

better- contr-ol lowering the main

system l<\laS refer-r-ed to as the "Weston Type Brake". Dr-awi ngs

of this system are in possession of Joe's son, Wayne

L.aycock.

The elevator-s are pr-omoted as being designed for- safe

operation, and ..•

"fitted with all the r-equir-ements of the Scaffolds and Lifts Act".:l.4

Power- SOUI~ C es available for- el?vator-s and conveyors

included small petr-ol engines, or- an electr-ic motor-.

The effectiveness of the L.aycock designs for- loading

and conveying is optimistically presented

company br-ochur-e:

"TUI'''n yOUl~ walkel~s int.o l"JOI~kers,

Let your- goods tr-avel alone, Feet. came fir-st, then wheels, then the Laycoc k El evator-s i:\nd Conveyor-s.":I.:5

It was also attested to by a number- of testimonials, for-

e:-:ampl e:

1, ""'L.i:':'tycnc k :I. 5Lii:I.YC nc k Br- nc h UT e ~

cir-ca 1955, appendix L1: 204. Clr-ca 1945, Elevatnr-s and

1L Cc<nveYC:il"!::; '}

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I

Tremain's Flourmills (1919) " ~'Je al~e so scd:isfir~~d wit.h this machinc;? that WC?

have pleasure in ordering another "

and, Scott's Gasworks (1931) " the coal conveyor supplied by you is working

•••••• not one penny has been spent on

.Joe Laycock offered to provide detail of,the stages of

manufacture of an el eVi:ttol~ , however '! his death in 1986

prevented this.17

FI~om a knc)w10?d(,;)f!:) of the m2\cl"·,:i.nc'!:?,! the \,\loY"kshop

f ac i I i·t i es, and some i nfol~mat:i. on pl''C'Jvi ded

H:i. 11 , it has been possible to compilf::! the

·f 011 owi ng notes on the manufacture of an el evc:ttol~.

Dimensional details, and design arrangements, for a Type B

elevatol~ are provided in Appendi~·( J5~ 161. The names of

e1 evatol'" and conveyor components used in this description

have been taken from the parts list included in the Laycock

Company brochure L1:219}. Numbers in brackets

identify the machinery as catalogued in Appendix E:124.

The base frame, and gantry support were made from steel

channel, cut to length on the power hacksaw ( 10) and

assembled with nuts and bolts. Elevator gantries (top, and

bottom) and conveyor gantries, were manufactured from angle

i I'" on and flat steel. The angle iron was cut to length on

the hacksaw (10 ) to produce the main frame.

16Laycock circa 1955, appendix Ll: 218. 17Laycock 1986, appendix 17: 152.

Thi S ~\lc~S


and

C.l ' I'=> 11

with a cri ss-cross lattice of

in pli::\ce .. This flat steel was cut on the shears

it is possible that the holes for the fixing

rivets were punched on this machine as well. If not, then

these were drilled on one of the three drilling machines

8).:l.lEl The fl'" i:,:\fTH;:~ and lattice pieces were

together by cold-forming the rivet with a hammer

over the blacksmiths anvil.

Raw cast iron castings for parts such as the wheels,

take-up plates, swing plates, gears, and chain sprockets,

etc '! were machined on the shaper to produce keyways, and

bored to size on the lathe. Mr Hill mentioned that keyways

were also produced on the lathe when he was at the shop in

the ear~y 1920's.:l.9 These components were assembled to

the frames, or gantries, with nuts and bolts.

and 1",lheel s (to carry the load) were

in the first instance, on one of the Lathes (2,

7) '/ but when the turret lathe (5) was purchased in 1945 it

set up for this repetitive task. 20

Splr'oc kf.'!!t chain was made of cast iron links, some of

which were rivetted to the a>~ 1 e::= .. " This was to

provide a positive mOVf2m(:;:n't of the runner axles along the

The load, (bag, box or brick, etc.) was supported

by a>:les mm apart along the chain.

The upper gantry was raised and lowered on a jib made

of steel bar. A small block and tackle and ratchet

:l.lElBarnes 1986, appendix AI: 3. :l.9Hill 1985, appendix A3: 58. 2°Laycock 1985, appendix Bl: 113.


------------------------------------

97 ..

system provided control for this jib? together with the

Weston brake system (post 1948 only) mentioned earlier.

Elevators and conveyors completed in the mid 1920's

were hand pai nted u ::;n In th~! post wal~ pey··i Dd they wel~e

pl~obabl y pai nted I""i th the aid of ai r- opel'·· ated

spray-painting equipment located in the garage.

?kchie Hill recounted that the manufacture of an

elevator would take approximately a week's work for the

team of three in the mid 1920's.22 According to Joe,

elevators were only made for a firm order during his time.

(1940 -1970 approximately).23

Sales and Competition.

The first Laycock elevator was sold to Wm.Tremain's,

Bathurst on 1 August 1919 for £215. Laycock elevators and

conveyors sold throughout NSW, into Queensland, and at

1 east one liJf2nt ovetr·seas tC) Fi j i .24 A 1 arge pt~oporti on of

sales were to flour milling companies, with others to Shire

Councils, the Railways, and Pastoral Companies, etc.2~

The growth in sales is represented in Fig. 33. This

graph, compiled from the Journal Survey (appendix K1:162)

shows a st~ady growth in sales between 1919 and 1927 (note

that figures for 1923-1925 were not available).

In the period prior to the 1930's depression, sales

declined and it is reported that the firm lost a lot of

21Hill 1985, ~ppendix A3: 56. 22Hill 1986? appendix A4: 72. 23Laycock 1986, appendix A6: 106. 24Laycock circa 1955, appendix Ll: 25Laycock 1919-1970, appendi~ K2: 197.

217.


E!-f -f ec t

c 1 <-:?;:~I'"

unt.:i.l

slump

I-f th~?:! sal es of L..i:~ycoc:k el evators I"e-f I (;:~ct the

of the depression on the rural community, it is

it was longlasting for sales did not recover

1938" ReC::Dvf!:!I~y , ~\)i th Hnothel~

corresponding to the early stages of th~ second world

18

16

,-I-

(J)

a:: 14 o I- 12

« 10 > W -I

8

W 6

o 4 Z

------

2 -"-

·0 I

1920

r-r-

I 1925

r-

.... ...

f- ....

I- r-

ill IIIII r ~ I I I I -.

1930 1935 1940 1945 1950

YEAR

Fig" 33 Elevator Sales, 1919-1950.

I t ~:;I"'JC')ul d bE! noted thi~\t duy" i ng i.: I"J E! Wi?"r pE'~Y" :i. od (::::;9-45)

AustraliH's wheat crop declined by only 25% as production

Production was relatively static until the

1,950'S.27 While bulk wheHt silos had commenced in 1,920,

the wheat crop handled by bulk only

increased by ""., ..::.1" in 1932-1,947. 29 In the same

reI ati ve peY"i oel (1939-1950) mech.'i:\ni f..;ati on

26Barnes 1,986, appendix A1: 4. 27Bureau of Agricultural Economics 1971: 1,2. 2sGrain Elevators Board n.d.: 27.

in the Y"l.wal

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1

0

I I I

99.

sector, in terms of the number of tractors, increased by

about 110%.29 The steady growth in elevator sales between

194-2 and 1947 may well reflect another aspect of this trend

toward mechanisation.

The apogee of Laycock production of elevators and

conveyors occurred over the years 1945-1951. This period

in fact, the apogee for the whole Laycock enterprise

(Fig. 24-. ) • Flroom then on the firm declined until its

closure in 1983.

A study of Laycock Journals did not allow a clear

picture of elevator costing to be made, due mainly to the

wide variety of types made, accessories included, and the

fact that conveyor costs were often included under elevator

E?ntlro i es. It is clear that the period 1939-1945 was one

where costs of elevators increased 30-50%. These increases

coincided with quite large increases in production costs as

detailed in Statistical Returns. 3o

Not long after elevator production commenced, Laycocks

appointed J.P.VanGelder and Co. of Sydney, sole Australian

VanGelders were responsible for arranging a tender

to supply elevators and conveyors to the Sydney Harbour

Trust for the Glebe Island Wheat sheds. The tender for

£]4,887/16/4 was one of eight others, and was beaten by

Holland's highelro tendel~ for £16,724-. ::!.<:l

VanGelders purchased parts and equipment from Laycocks from

1920 to 1949, presumably for resale to various flourmilling

29Bureau of Agricultural Economics 1971: 31. 30Commonwealth of Aust., Factory Returns 194-2-1959. 31VanGelder 1925, NSW Archives 13/13817.


:1.00 ..

companies, as they were milling engineers.

c:ompr;:~t:i. t:i. cln tl·la·t L.i::\ycock' s; had i n tl!::~I"'m~5

of elevator/conveyor sales is not clear. The twelve

companies who tendered for the Sydney Harbour Trust

contract mayor may not have been manufacturers in their

own right, as with VanGelders. A survey, and the inspection

a numbeF' of mills in the Central West, Riverina, Near

South Coast., and Sydney revealed chain type bag elevators

made by five other manufacturers:

Bishop's Implements - Footscray, Victoria

Conveyor Co. of Australia - Sydney

Munro Engineering P/L. Ballarat, Victoria

Star Engineering Works

U.E .. Industries - Newcastle (NSW)

No details for each of these firms has been traced, however

it is known that Bishop's patented an elevator in 194432

and t.hat t.heir products were used extensively in Vict.oria

and NS!;,! ..

f,). pvator SUI'·vey.

In 1988 a postc:\l 70 flourmillers, and stock

m;::<.I"·lu+ ii!lctul"'ers? i n Nt:;~\j an d 0+ tl-'JCl in

was carried out to determine whether any chain

t.ype elevators were still in use, and who were their

manufacturers. 33 A summary of results is presented in

32Commonwealth of Australia, Dept. of Patents 13870/44. 33Gibson :1.988, appendix M: 228.


10:1. ..

It would appear that the following testimonial of 1945

is still applicable to a number of Laycock machines some 20

years after the last machine was manufactured!

"~'JF.-J h2\ve the pi ea sun,:') to infonll you thclt the

elevator purchased from you in 1919 is still

giving every satisfaction and the upkeep of this

machine is pl~act.ically nil. 11::54

NANUFACTURERS NO. STILL IN CONDITION N.R.

NANE USE EX GOOD POOR U/S

Bishop 12 11 9 1 1 1 .. Laycock 3 3 3

1"1unro 1 1

Unknown 1 1 1

17 15 14 1 1 1

EX - E>: cell ent U/S - Unserviceable N.R. - Nil Return

T~ble 4. Summary of ElevBtor Survey Results.

of thG\ Laycock el evator·s and conveyor·s.

covered the period 1918 to 1969, and from available records

these Bre the only products produced in any large quantity.

In 1922 William, and Cyril patented

"An cClmb :i. rl(,::!d cutting mc\ch :i. r1f:."'! 11::5'-'3 '}

::54L,::xYCClCk c::i.y··ca 1955, <:'.PF'(7:!i·ld:i.;-: 1. .. 1~ 218 .. ::5~Commonwealth of Aust, Dept of Patents 1920.

and t.I···lre!shi ng


for cutting long lengths of straws~ threshing unthreshed

gl'··;::\:i. n, and threshing waste 'white-heads'. This

mi:,:\chinE~ known Whitehead Thresher. 36

Laycock Journal records only show two entries for Thresher

sales. This was for three machines to J.P.VanGelder in 1922

and one to Tremain's flourmill. 37 In a list of prices in

the back of a journal they are shown at £31 each for the

year' 192·~1-3E3 . A lack of journal entries may only point to

the fact that sales of these machines were made by cash.

Mr.Arch Hill placed the lack of orders to the fact that,

"it v-Jas made in a such a fashion that it never wcw'e out .. " 39

After the war the firm expanded to add a Potato Grader

and Sizer to its products to meet a requirement of the

Potato Board that potatoes be graded to size before sale to

the public. Production of the grader/sizer ceased when the

Potato Board was abolished. 40

The firm added no further new products between the mid

1950's and 1969 when elevator/conveyor production ceased.

Decline.

Th.? vi ab:i.l it Y of thE! cl-Ia:i. n type el f.~vatol'- v·Jas al most:

totally in the hands of the grain handling industry. When

that industry adopted bulk-handling methods there was a

marked reduction in the need for chain elevators.

3·White 1924: 128. 37Laycock 1922, appendix Kl: 168. 3E3Laycock Journal 1912-1915: 460. 39Hill 1988, appendix A4: 72. 4°Laycock 1985, appendix I5~ 147.

I I I I

I I I I I I I I i I I I I I I I

103.

Legislation to promote the bulk handling of wheat had

been enacted in NSW in and the first silo had

been completed in Peak Hill in 1918. 42 By 1949 over half

of the State's wheat crop was delivered to bag stacks, but

this declined steadily over the next decade as bulk

handling took over from bags.

The abolition of bag stacks for grain storage in the

late 1960's foreshadowed the closure of elevator production

at Laycocks. A comparison between the growth in the NSW

wheat crop, the proportion of that crop handled by bag, and

the sales of the Laycock elevators illustrates this point

One may have expected a continuing market for elevators and

conveyors on the farm itself, but the imposition of bulk

handling at the railhead and mill meant that the farmer was

finally forced to employ bulk handling techniques. This

transfer was also prompted by the increased labour costs

involved with bag handling methods.4~ To meet the

growing need for bulk handling, new auger elevators were

developed by agricultural implement manufacturers. 46

The last Laycock elevators were manufactured in 1969.

It can only be conjectured why Joe Laycock did not take

up the challenge to produce other agricultural equipment

such as the Auger type of elevator.

41Wheelhouse 1973: 114. 42Grain Elevator Board n.d.": 7. 43Laycock Journals 1950-1969. 44Grain Elevators Board n.d.: 18 and 27. 4~Wheelhouse 1973: 116. 46Brown 1986, appendix 11: 139.

It may have been

I I I i I .1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

1.04.

becausfi!! thes!? mOI'''f.?

manufactured by a sheetmetalworking firm. Joe had no

specific skills in this area and therefore may have been

I~el uctant to move into a new area, requiring new equipment

skills .. It is clear that he continued with work

that suited his skills, viz. light engineering

I

D- o 190 I

0 0 • I 0 'Ho I 0: 0 0

0 0 :'150 /-4- TC?TAL CROP T'"

I l- x

·130 I <t ..J ..J ~ Ww 110 ..,

::c~ ----- --.-.~.

~ i' 90' ---- .... 70

18

Cl) 16 ...... _-

0: o 14

I- 12 <t > W ...J 8 W .

o z

6

4

2

o-L~~~-L-L~~-L~~~-L~~~~~~~

1950 1955 1960 1965 1970

YEAR

Grain Handling Methods Vs Elevator Sales,

:I. 9·<l7-:I. 970.

The death of Jos's wife in the early :l.970·s had a


105.

profound effect on his lifestyle,47 and this could have

removed any incentive to further diversify the scope of

work done in that period. The firm required extensive

re-capitalisation for it to become viable once again. The

building was structurally weak after a life near 100 years,

and the machinery was obviously out of date for a late 20th

Century manufactory. Without a product to attract income?

and possibly witllout capital to restructure, the practical

reality for this family enterprise was for it to close.

Whatever the reason or combination of reasons, the last

employee (John Wood) left in 1971. Joe worked in light

engineering work (welding steelwork and machining) in the

old blacksmith's shop until 1983 when trouble with a

central lineshaft caused him to abandon the shop, and he

worked on in the 1925 garage until his death in 1986.

~7Barnes 1986, appenMix Ai: 6.


-~----------------------------------------------------

106 ..

The fate of the blacksmith was inextricably bound up

with the onset of a modern technological age .. From the

earliest days of the industrial revolution progressive

technological evolution has undermined the very base of the

blacksmith's manual manipulation of iron and

steel in the manufacture of products designed to sustain

the soci~ty of the time.

The following innovations were partly responsible for

the decline of the blacksmith:

i } The steam engine and later the internal

combustion engine were to provide society with new motive

power sources to replace the traditional sources of wind,

animal and water pO\-'Jel~ • Applied to industry, this source

led to industrialisation and mass production.

ii}The product of the blacksmith, hand forged and

welded, was now produced by industry in great quantities

and competitively than the blacksmith could ever hope

to do .. The traditional products of the blacksmjth became

available as retail hardware items, resulting in a decline

in the demand for the blacksmith's trade.

. . . , J. 1 1 ,

by

Traditional farm implements~ mi::\de a.nd

the blacksmith were replaced by modern


mechanised farm

107.

implements as industrial technology

developed in the nineteenth-century, further eroding the

blacksmith's traditional base.

iv) Applied to transport, the new motive power

provided new forms of mechanised transport - the car, truck

and tractor. Dependency on the horse as a power source on

the farm and as a means of transport, declined, with

further implications for the blacksmith's limited future.

'These developments along with the declining demand for

that for many, the only outcome was the blacksmith, meant

to close the doors.

This was not the case for the Laycock family

blacksmithing business. This study has traced the family

involvement of almost one hundred years in this enterprise,

and has shown how various family members changed the work

emphasis to ensure the survival of this firm, when

blacksmithing as a trade had all but disappeared in NSW.

The extension of the blacksmith's shop in the 1890's to

include machining capacity and a foundry, the adoption of

new technologies such as oxy and electric welding, and the

diversification of the works into a small manufacturing

enterprise were deliberate strategies used by the family

owners to ensure their survival.

The study has also shown that the entrepreneurial

spirit showm by members of the Laycock family in this

diversification was in contrast to a much needed capital

injection for redevelopment in the latter years. Such an

injection together with the use of a workforce skilled in

modern metalworking trades might have ensured the viability

I I I I I I I I I ·1 I I I I I I I ,I I I I

lOB.

C)'f t.he firm when grain elevat.or production failed to be

support.ed by demand.

Wh:i.l st. thi s is an enigmc:! in it.sel·f~ th€~se facts

contributed t.o the sit.uation where t.he physical fabric of

this ent.erprise remained on the sit.e almost. unaltered at

t.he t.ime it. was recorded.

The analysis of documentary evidence and oral hist.ory

records allowed a chronology of family involvement in the

finn t.o be d!?vel oped '} and examinat.ion of company records

pl"ovi ded on various t.ransitional phases over t.ime.

This dat.a was int.egrat.ed wit.h t.he archaeological record t.o

clarify changes to the building structure and hence provide

extensive analysis of the growth and development of the

firm from its earliest days until its closure in 19B6.

The archaeological analysis of this industrial sit.e,

whilst not involving excavation, allowed t.he applicat.ion of

normally expect.ed t.echniques of measurement and

photography to dat.a collect.ion and sit.e analysis. Whilst

measurement. data was handled by the applicat.ion of normal

recording techniques j artifact. dat.a was handled by an

on-sit.e portable computer and database soft.ware. In this

:i. nstc~nc€~ th(~ computer' ~'Jas used as an on-si te "tool" to

st.ore information about the tools, machinery and equipment

locat.ed on t.he site. The process of keying t.his information

di I"ectl y into t.he computer during site recording obviated

the need t.o carry out. this task at t.he home base, and

proved to be very efficient. Whilst measurement. dat.a was

initially recorded on paper, computer technology was used

I

I 1 1 1 I I I I 1 1 1 I

'I 1 1 I I I I

l09.

t.o produce int.erim site and building plans. 1

st.ill a need for a complet.e analysis of the many individual

tools that. were on site. This analysis would help det.ermine

specific relat.ionship to t.he firm's machinery and may

provide new information on ot.her t.ypes of work carried out.

Connah expresses a concern that archaeologists are too

involved in dat.a collect.ion t.han

In his

however~ he also recognises that much of our heritage is

under threat from modern development, collectors and

do-good local historians. 3 If this is so, then dat.a

collection must somet.imes assume a great.er importance, and

such was t.he case with t.he Laycock site. It was brought. t.o

tl""te not:i.ce of this researcher in casual conversat:i.on that

it was earmarked for redevelopment, allowing minimal time

for a site survey to be completed.

The archaeological value of the Laycock site stemmed

from the fact that to all :i.ntents and purposes :i.t was

unchanged from the early part of the twentieth-century,

a1 most as a" ••• seal ed deposi:i, t ". "'" The f ac+..: that such

i::\ ~;i te had not been razsd to the ground for redevelopmen~

can be attributed to the facts that it \l-Jas ,,::\ vi cd::ll e

enterprise into the early 1970's and that the pressure from

modern developers was

less i mpoy-tant in country towns because of

(-2conomi c stagna't ion .... " .:s

1Gibson 1985, appendices J and K: 60-6l. 2Connah 1983:l5. 3Connah 1983:15. 4'CI'''emi 1'1 l 988: 3. 5Connah 1988:127.

~ I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

1.10.

The production of grain elevators to remove much of the

labour content involved in handling bagged goods (wheat~

etc.) in the rural sector, sustained the enterprise for

almost fifty years. With the acceptance of bulk handling

techniques in the mid-to-late 1960's demand for elevators

declined. Without ~ product to attract income, and possibly

without capital to restructure, with a structurally

unstable building and out-of-date machinery, the practical

reality for the Laycock enterprise was for it to close.

Laycock's was neither large, architecturally valuable,

aesthetically pleasing nor of immense industrial importance

to the extent th~t it would have had pre~ervation value.

This study, however, places on record the industrial

contribution of this small enterprise to the town of

Bathurst. It provides insight into the family tradition of

the blacksmith over four generations, and the strategies

used by thjs family

(albeit in different

to ensure that the industry survived

forms) when traditional blacksmiths

had generally bowed

technological innovation.

growth and development

industrial manufacture.

to manufacturing industry and

It also provides a record of the

of the family's own excursion into

J. IN. Gibson.

rf I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

111..

GLOSSARY

Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary, 1960.

Blacksmith:

Cupola:

Drill:

Engineer:

Engineering:

Forge:

Founder:

Founding:

Lathe:

a man who works, repairs and shapes iron with a forge, anvil, hammer, etc; specifically one who prepares and fits horseshoes.

a furnace used in foundries for melting metals: usually of firebrick cased with iron.

a pointed instrument used for boring holes in metal, wood, stone, etc.; a boring tool that cuts its way as it revolves; also a drilling machine or drill press.

to plan, construct or manage as an engineer.

the planning, designing, management of machinery.

construction, or

a furnace in which iron or other metal is heated to be hammered into form; as a blacksmith's forge; consisting essentially of a bellows and fireplace.

a caster; forms.

one who casts metals in various

the art of casting melted metal, according to a given design or pattern.

a machine for shaping an article of wood, metal, etc. by holding and turning it rapidly against the edge of a cutting tool.


• • I I I

Machine Shop:

Manufacturer:

Manufacturing:

112.

a workshop, factory, or part of a factory in which machinery is made, altered or repaired.

one who is in the business of manufacturing; especially a factory owner.

employed in making goods as a manufacturing company.


1.1.3.

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Mobile conveyor or elevator suitable for loading and :::;u~n!.!l::...:o=a~d:!-,lt..· n~g1---=c..:::a~s:::.:e:::..!::d,--....:a~n..:::d~-==b..:::a~g:J..:g::u:e..:::d~g::l.o=o!.::d:!.!s=., vo I ume 59. 9, pat en t number 13870/44.

Patent Name Indexes 1904-1969

Patent Name Indexes 1913-1919, class 59.9-elevators.


118.

Classified Specifications of Inventions 1957. iJI1.2rOved travellin9.., elevator Class 32.7, volume 1.

Classified Specifications class 59.9, volume 64.

of Inventions

Classified Subject Matter Index 1904-1912,.

1.916-:-1919,

Commonwealth of Austr~lia. Government Statistician. Factory returns for 1942, 1946-1959, 1962, 1963, Joseph Laycock and Son. Documents supplied by Joseph William Laycock in 1986.

Commonwealth of 1936-1948. Summary Laycock and Son. Laycock in 1986.

Australia. Income Tax Assessment Act of wages records for 1949-1969, Joseph

Documents supplied by Joseph William

Gibson, Battle and Co. P/L. 1946. Outline of portable stacking machine, handling bags of asbestos fibre, 125# each, Underhill Day and Co. Pty. Ltd. Company engineering drawing.

Gibson, J.W. 1985. J.Laycock and Son 1889-1.985. Unpublished Interim Report on the firm, lodged with the Historical Archaeology Department at the University of Sydney and Bathurst Historical Society.

Graham, K. 1986. Eulogy for Joseph William Laycock at All Saints' Cathedral, Bathurst.

Kearton, W.H. J.Laycock and Meadow.

Invoice for cast iron castings supplied to Son on 24 May 1949. Illawarra Foundry, Fairy

Laycock, Joseph and Son. Bad debts records, 1961-1972.

Bank deposit records, 1924-1926.

Bank deposits, 1939.

Costing for garage, 1925.

Draft for newspaper advertisements, 1935.

Elevator 1969.

and conveyor sales, November 1949-January

Elevator spare parts list, n.d.

Income and expenditure statements for the fiscal years, 1951-1958.

Invoices from suppliers, 1932-1933.

Invoices from suppliers, 30 June 1937 to 15 September, 1937.


119.

Invoices from suppliers~ 1938-39.

Journal for the years 1912-1913 and 1936~ Book 1.

Journal for the years 1912-1915, Book 2.


Journal for the period December 1925 4.

June 1936, Book

Journal for the ye.rs 1935-1938, Book 8. Keppel Street radio shop sales.

Journal for the years 1936-1939, 1950-1952, 1940-1944, and 1959, Book 5.

Journal for the period November 1959 - 1972, Book 6.


Letter to J.W.Gibson, re machinery in 1925 garage, dated 15 August 1986.

Quotations for Work? 1944.

Weekly wages sheets for the periods 1 December 1968 to 26 December 1969, and 17 May 1971 to 25 September 1972.

Zions' Industrial Arbitration Act weekly wages sheets, Nov 1945-Jan 1967.

Morris, Laycock Li thgol'J.

G.C. ane!

1936. Invoice for castings supplied to Joseph Son from the foundry - G.C. Western Foundry,

Municipality of Bathurst. 1875. Land assessment records, Municipal Council, Bathurst.

Municipality of Bathurst. 1885. Land assessment records, Municipal Council, Bathurst.

NSW Corporate Affairs: Companies Office. 1900. Memorandum of Association for the Australian Carbide Co. Ltd.

Register of Public Registration notice for Proprietary Ltd.

Companies. the Hydro

Book OHY

Register of Public Companies. Book Registration notice for the Acetylene Australasia Ltd. in 1898.

Register of Public Companies. Book Registration notice for George Fish Ltd. in

1 , Gas

...., ..:.., Gas

2, 1903.

1875. Patents

1901 • Co. of

1901.

I I I I I I I I I NSvJ

I I I I I I I I I I-I I I

120.

Statement for ·renewal of registration of business name fer Joseph Laycock and Son, 1971.

Statement for renewal of registration of business name for Joseph Laycock and Son, 1974.




Submission paper for The Australian Carbide Co. Ltd, 1906.

Registrar General's Office: Land Grant Index, 1830-1839.

Land Grant Index, 1839-1847.

Land Grant Index, 1847-1855.

Land Title Deeds. Book 32, page 589, conveyance - Lord to Hayes.

Land Title Deeds. Book 42, page 403, mortgage - Farrand to Mackay.

Land Title Deeds. Book 62, page 811, conveyance - Owens to Farrand.

Land Title Deeds. Book 120, page 75, conveyance - Busby to Busby.

Land Title Deeds. Book Farrand to Anderson.

Land Title Deeds. Book Anderson to McPhillamy.

Land Title Deeds. Anderson to Heylin.

Book

147, page 142, conveyance -

147, page 143, mortgage


Land Title Deeds. Book 162, page 108, reconveyance -McPhillamy to Anderson.

Land Title Deeds. Book 199, page 603, conveyance - Lord to Cal~liss.

Land Title Deeds. Book 199, page 721, conveyance - Lord to 1''1c!<ell.

Land Title Deeds. Book 427, Laycock to McPhillamy.

page 912,

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I

121.

Land Title Deeds. Book Anderson to Laycock.

Land Title Deeds. Book Laycock to Anderson.

Land Title Deeds. Book Anderson to Laycock.



503, page 923, reconveyance -

Land Title Deeds. Book Laycock to McPhillamy.


Land Title Deeds. Anderson to O'Shea.

Land Title Deeds. O'Shea to Laycock.

Book 1068, page 932, conveyance -


Land Title Deeds. Book 1169, page 700, mortgage ~ Laycock to Ingersole.

Land Title Deeds. Anderson to Gair.


Land Title Deeds. Book 1203, page 783, conveyance -Anderson to Laycock.

Land Title Deeds. Book 1242, page 87, conveyance -Anderson to Smith.

Land Title Deeds. Book 2592, page 211, acknowledgement - Laycock to Laycock.

Land Title Deeds. Book 3587, page 886, reconveyance -Turnbull to Laycock.

Land Title Deeds. Book 3587, page 887, conveyance -Laycock to Bush.

Register of Town Purchases. grant to George Tollemache.

Register of Town Purchases. grant to George Busby.

Serial

Serial

No. 40, page 147,

No. 59, page 122,

Register of Town Purchases. Serial No.234, purchases by Maurice Hayes.

Register of Town Purchases. Serial No.239, purchases by William Farrand.

Register of Town Purchases. Serial No. 240, purchases by William Owens.

Vendors' 1921.

Indexes. Book A, covering the period 1871 -

I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

122.

Vendor"s' 1871.

Inde~":es. Book B, covering the period 1857 -

Vendor"s' - 1876.

Inde>:es. Books E - F, covering the period 1848

Vendor~' Inde>:es. Book H, covering the period 24.07.184~ to 07.09.1857.

Vendors' 1980.

Inde>:es. Book L, covering the period 1879 -

Vendors' 1919.

Inde>:es. Books N-O, covering the period 1857 -

Vendors' Inde>:es. Books P-Q, covering the period 04.11.1885 - 11.02.1887.

NSW Reg~strar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages: Death Certificate for Henry Anderson.

Death Certificate for Joseph Cyril Laycock.

Death Certificate for Joseph William Laycock.

Death Certificate for Thomas Laycock.

NS\.oJ Reqi str"ar of C_CWll.:;)an~"..§J~}"~ Renewal of registration of business name for Joseph Laycock and Son, 1962.

Statement of change in certain particulars for Joseph Laycock and Son, 1966.

Statement of business is Son, 1963.

change in registered

persons in relation to whom for Joseph William Laycock and

Statement for renewal of registration of business name for Joseph Laycock and Son.


Queensland State Archives. Immigration records, pages 86, 96. Thomas Laycock.

No.119,

Railway Branch of Department of Public Works. t887. Return of employees on 31.12.1887, pages 55, 56.

Registrar General of NSW: Change in registered particulars for Joseph Laycock and Son 'j 1936.


123.

Change in registered particulars for Joseph Laycock and Son, 1944. Closure of the radio branch.

Change in registered particulars for Joseph Laycock and Son, 1944. J.W.Laycock deceased.

Nbtice of chan~e in constitution of firm for Laycock Bros, 1917.

Notice of change of firm name to Joseph Laycock and Son, 1917.

Statement for registration of existing business Laycock Bros, 1903.

Tighe, W.H. 1986. Analysis of entries in the municipal rate books of Bathurst for Laycock and Anderson for the period 1875-1928. Supplied by C.Woldhuis, Bathurst Tourism Management Committee. Source : Bathurst District Historical Society.

Van Gelder, J.P. and Co. Pty. Ltd. 1948. Alternative design of West on Type Brake for hand winch, from NSW Department of Labour and Industry's drawing 2443/63/7. Company engineering drawing.

Van Gelder, J.P. and Co. n.d. drawings, The Company, Sydney.

Catalogue of elevator

Van Gelder, J.P. and Co. 1935. Company Minutes January 1930 to May 1935.

Van Gelder, J.P. and Co. 1949. Detail of West on Type Brake for hand winch, for operating jib of small size Laycock elevators. Company engineering drawing.

Van Gelder, J.P. and Co. Special Elevator for engineering drawing.

1925. Elevator portion of Type 'C' elevating wheat sacks. Company

Van Gelder, J.P. and Co. circa 1925. elevator, Van Geldewr and Co., Sydney.

The Laycock bag

Van Gelder, J.P. and Co. 1925. Tender for supply and installation of portable conveyors and elevators for bagged wheat at Glebe Island Wheat Sheds, Sydney, Van Gelder and Co., Sydney.

NEWSPAPERS:

Bathurst Daily Times, 18 October 1873, re H.Anderson.

Bathurst Daily Times, 14 June 1888, re H.Anderson.

I I.

I I I I. I I I I I I I I 1 :1 'I

124.

Bathur-st Daily Times, 23 Dec:ember- 1889, r-e Layc:oc:k .pur-c:hase of Ander-son's shop.

National Advoc:ate, 21 August 1900, death notic:e for- Thomas Layc:oc: k.

The Austr-alian, 18 Mar-c:h 1986:36, Tec:hnologic:al br-idge to restor-ing the past.

The Lithgow Merc:ury, 10 January 1913, re G.C.Morris Western Foundr-y. Also Januar-y 1922, 1932 and 1935.

The Lithgow Merc:ur-y, February 1958, death notic:e for C.A.Layc:oc:k.

The Sydney Morning Her-aId, 21 October 1842:3, re Peter Nic:ol Russell Foundry.

Wester-n Advoc:ate, 29 September ·1971:19, Joseph Layc:oc:k and Son, also page 18.

Western Advoc:ate, 29 September 1971:23, 85 years in same premises.

Wester-n Advoc:ate, 1 May 1985, Seymour street farrier's shop a c:ity treasure.

Western Advoc:ate, 13 July 1985, History on the move.

Wester-n Advoc:ate, four years' work.

16 May 1988:2, Layc:oc:k's reopens after-

Western Times, 12 July 1939, death notic:e for J.W.Layc:oc:k.

Wester-n Times, ,J.C.Layc:oc:k.

10 November- 1958, death notic:e

Western Times, 13 November- 1969, Bathurst 1890 - 1930.