Corporate Body
Malcolm Moore Ltd (1921 - )
- From
- October 1921
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Functions
- Engineering and Manufacturing Industry
- Alternative Names
- Malcolm Moore Pty Ltd (Former name, 1921 - 1927)
Summary
Malcolm Moore Ltd was a leading and innovative manufacturing firm specialising in the design and manufacture in Australia of mechanical handling, transportation and construction machinery.
Commencing as a private company, Malcolm Moore Pty Ltd in 1921, with directors Malcolm Moore, Theodore Lloyd and Donald Baxter, it became Malcolm Moore Ltd when it was floated as a public company in March 1927.
The firm took advantage of the emerging use of electric arc welding in fabrication and employed some of the leading engineers in this field to make a wide range of equipment - from small tractors to large industrial cranes and conveyors, as well as hundreds of road rollers and road graders.
Branches of the firm were progressively opened in every State capital and several provincial centres.
During the Second World War, the firm manufactured narrow-gauge rail tractors for the Army, and these were later reused in forestry, sugarcane and irrigation industries.
Most of the machinery was emblazoned with the distinctive diamond-shaped 'Malcolm Moore Ltd, Engineers' plate or the circular 'MM' logo.
Some of its related patents are detailed below.
Related entries
Archival resources
The University of Melbourne Archives
Published resources
Journal Articles
- 'Coal unloading and storage plant', Commonwealth Engineer, 20 (1) (1932), 13-15. Details
- Radcliffe, David F., 'Malcolm Moore & Albert Longoni: a tale of two innovative engineers', Engineering heritage Australia magazine, 3 (7) (2021), 23-30, https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/Learned%20Society/EHA_Magazine_Vol3_No7_January_2021.pdf. Details
Resources
- IP Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, 'Application: 13333/1944. Title: An improved casting table for precast building structures', Australian Patent search database, Commonwealth of Australia, 2015, https://ipsearch.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/1944013333. Details
- IP Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, 'Application: 19568/1924. Title: Improved means for converting a petrol or kerosene-driven tractor into a locomotive', Australian Patent search database, Commonwealth of Australia, 2015, https://ipsearch.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/1924019568. Details
- IP Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, 'Application: 19569/1924. Title: Improved attachments to a tractor to enable it to operate a crane, shovel, winch, or any other machine requiring a frame or platform', Australian Patent search database, Commonwealth of Australia, 2015, https://ipsearch.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/1924019569. Details
- IP Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, 'Application: 19571/1924. Title: Improvements in winches or hoists for tractors', Australian Patent search database, Commonwealth of Australia, 2015, https://ipsearch.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/1924019571. Details
- IP Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, 'Application: 10515/1923. Title: Improvements in winches and hoisting engines', Australian Patent search database, Commonwealth of Australia, 2015, https://ipsearch.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/1923010515. Details
- IP Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, 'Application: 10901/1923. Title: Improvements in the mechanism employed for automatically operating the doors and the tipping of side or end tip waggons or similar vehicles', Australian Patent search database, Commonwealth of Australia, 2015, https://ipsearch.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/1923010901. Details
- IP Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, 'Application: 15239/1923. Title: Improvements in electric hoists', Australian Patent search database, Commonwealth of Australia, 2015, https://ipsearch.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/1923015239. Details
Ken McInnes
Created: 26 March 2025