General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

4

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

STEEL, CAST IRON, GALVANIZED TIN PANELLING AND WOOD

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

541.0 cm

Width

332.0 cm

Height

282.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Agriculture

Category

Crop handling

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Waterloo

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Waterloo

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Saskatchewan

Period

1930s

Canada

The Sunshine Auto Header was one of the first self-propelled combine harvesters. It was designed and manufactured in Australia by H.V. McKay Propietary Ltd. beginning in 1923 and exported around the world, including to Canada. In 1930, Massey-Harris bought a stake in McKay and began manufacturing the Sunshine Auto Header in Waterloo, Ontario. Machines were built and assembled at the Waterloo factory before being sent by rail to Western Canada, where they were sold by farm equipment distributors.

Function

The combine harvester, also known earlier as the reaper-thresher, combines in one machine all the operations associated with cereal-grain harvesting: reaping, gathering, threshing, sorting and winnowing. First conceived in the late 19th century, combine harvesters became popular the 20th century as grain farming expanded, particularly in western North America. Combine harvesters came in towed and self-propelled models, with self-propelled models dominating production after the 1940s.

Technical

The Sunshine Auto Header was one of the first self-propelled combines to have been mass produced and sold all over the world. It is equipped with a screw conveyor linking the header to the drum, a power-assisted header, an independent ground speed from the threshing speed, as well as a rotary pick-up.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

N/A

Missing

WAS ORIGINALLY MISSING, THE STEERING WHEEL, SUPPORT BRACKET OF WHEEL AND VARIOUS OTHER MINOR PARTS PRIOR TO RESTORATION

Finish

PANELS GALVANIZED/ CAST IRON AND STEEL PARTS PAINTED

Decoration

LARGE LION DECAL ON FRONT