Biographical entry Smith, Richard Bowyer (1837 - 1919)

Summary

Richard Bowyer Smith, a farmer from Kalkabury, in the mallee country of South Australia. Initially he worked as an apprentice engineer then a foreman with a farm implement firm. Smith, with the help of his blacksmith brother (Clarence Herbert Smith), developed the first stump-jump plough, the 'Vixen' three-furrow plough, in 1876. This eliminated the time-consuming task of removing rocks and the stumps and roots of felled trees before ploughing could commence, dramatically changing the processes of clearing and cultivating. Smith received £500, a gold medal and a grant of 260 hectares of land from the South Australian government for his work.

Published resources

Book Sections

• André, Roger, 'Smith, Richard Bowyer (1837-1919), Blacksmith and Inventor of the Stump-Jump Plough', in Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. Supplement, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 2005, pp. 366-367. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10443b.htm. Details

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'Smith, Richard Bowyer', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1465422. Details

See also

• Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/scripts/tia-dynindex.php3?EID=P003961. Details