Rotary Hoe
The Rotary Hoe Or Rotavator Is One Of Australia’s Most Successful 20th Century Inventions
A 16 year old teenager called Arthur Clifford Howard began working on his invention in Gilgandra, New Wales just after the turn of the 20th Century. He noticed his dad’s steam tractor wasted power as its wheels pressed down on the earth before the tilling equipment, which was dragged behind it, tried to plough through the hard ground. He decided to work on the idea which would use the wheels that ploughed for power as they moved through the ground.
In 1912 he built a prototype hoe. It used rotating discs driven by a tractor engine to cut weeds and plant roots and mixed these with the soil. For many crops this method produced top soil more suitable for seeding and growth than convectional ploughs had done. He designed many different rotary hoe models for specific applications including orchards, vineyards, sugarcane and heavy duty hoes for clearing.
In 1928 Howard started the Howard Auto Company near Sydney and by 1929 he was exporting hoes throughout the world. By the 1970’s the company had produced more than 400,0000 hoes sold in more than 120 countries and had operations in 14 countries.
The company has since closed operation but the same basic design is still being made in many countries overseas.
