Billycart
Made in Australia, Oceania, 1950-1970.
Summary
99/4/83
Billycart, wood/metal/rubber, Australia, 1950-1970.
The chassis of this billycart is made from wood. A plank forms the central axis. A wooden crate, cut down to four sides, forms the cabin and seat. A brown hessian bag has been draped over the back of this crate. Stuck on the left side of the crate is a piece of paper with the inscription; '3" 162 S/G FILE/H'. At the rear is a black metal number plate 'AB 48'. The front and rear metal axles are attached to wooden planks. The rear is fixed the front pivoted with a bolt to enable steering. A length of 'steering' rope has been attached to this front wooden axle plank. There are four metal rimmed spoked wheels. The front wheels have solid rubber tyres, the rear wheels have no tyres.
The chassis of this billycart is made from wood. A plank forms the central axis. A wooden crate, cut down to four sides, forms the cabin and seat. A brown hessian bag has been draped over the back of this crate. Stuck on the left side of the crate is a piece of paper with the inscription; '3" 162 S/G FILE/H'. At the rear is a black metal number plate 'AB 48'. The front and rear metal axles are attached to wooden planks. The rear is fixed the front pivoted with a bolt to enable steering. A length of 'steering' rope has been attached to this front wooden axle plank. There are four metal rimmed spoked wheels. The front wheels have solid rubber tyres, the rear wheels have no tyres.
Dimensions
370 mm
530 mm
Production
Commercial variations of the home-made 'fruit box' billy cart appeared by the late 1960s, early 1970s - Raleigh produced a commercial billy cart in the 1970s called a 'Hi Speed Billy Cart Rail'. The term 'go-cart' now tends to refer to a motorised cart.
This billycart is typical of the H-shaped chassis cart with simple pivot steering. Like many home-made billycarts it is constructed from pre-used materials - a wooden box, scrap timber and pram or shopping trolley type wheels.
This billycart is typical of the H-shaped chassis cart with simple pivot steering. Like many home-made billycarts it is constructed from pre-used materials - a wooden box, scrap timber and pram or shopping trolley type wheels.
1950-1970
Source
Gift of the National Trust of Australia, NSW, 1999
11 January, 1999
Cite this Object
Billycart 2016, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 22 September 2017, <https://ma.as/167251>
{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/167251 |title=Billycart |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=22 September 2017 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}