Dannevirke’s Gallery of History gifted ancient grader

The ancient grader in its new home next to the Gallery of History in Dannevirke. It's believed to date back to the 1890s.

A chance sighting of metal has led to a gift for Dannevirke’s Gallery of History.

The sighting, under wild blackberry in a section that used to be Blast and Coat in Miller St, stirred some memories for Trevor Beale in a recent visit so he investigated and discovered a historical treasure scheduled to be sold for scrap.

It is an Austin Machinery and Co Horse Drawn Road Grader dating back to about the 1890s, rumoured to be the first grader operated by the Dannevirke County Council.

It was formerly owned by Ivan Ericksen who operated it and after storing it in retirement, he took it to Blast and Coat for sandblasting and priming. Unfortunately, he died before he could reclaim it and after a devasting fire in 2022 the grader lay abandoned.

Lifting the grader off Dannevirke Mitre 10′s truck with the help of its hoist.

Last week the new owners of the site were clearing it of scrap when Trevor saw the grader and recalled former owner Ivan Ericksen had planned after its facelift to gift it to the Gallery of History.

Clearing the fence and pointing it in the right position.

That was good enough for the new owners of the site and the grader was uplifted to Trevor’s section from where Dannevirke’s Mitre 10 transported it to the Gallery of History using its truck with a hydraulic Pal Finger hoist.

It was an amazing sight as this remarkable piece of machinery found its new home beside the building.

Job done - Mitre 10 truck driver and lift operator Paul Murray with Gallery of History president Murray Holden.

Murray Holden and his Gallery of History team have been researching the grader but little about its working life has been discovered.

Markings on the machine say it was made by Austin Machinery Co of Harvey, Illinois (near Chicago). Also the word ‘Carnegie’ is printed in steel on both sides of the grader. We have another Carnegie in our town as well. Was the grader a gift too?

Initially, the grader was horse-drawn and required two operators one to control the horses and the other to guide the machinery. Then it was converted to be pulled by a tractor – possibly a steam-driven one according to one long-time resident.

If anyone has information the Gallery of History would love to hear from you. Call 06 374 6300 or drop around. It is worth seeing!

Dave Murdoch is a part-time photojournalist based in Dannevirke. For the last 10 years he has covered any community story telling good news about the district.