Furphy Farm Water Cart
Stacey Karayannis
3166047
This specific Furphy’s Farm Water Cart, was made in 1930, indicated by the markings on the top face of the cart, made the company J.Furphy & Son’s. John Furphy, the company founder was from Northern Victoria and by the age of 31 had set up a blacksmith and wheelwright shop and began his own business. His iron foundry sat in prime city space in Shepparton. The first water cart, a unique invention of John Furphy was completed in the 1880’s. The business excelled and by 1888 and Furphy had one of the most established businesses of its kind in Northern Victoria.
John Furphy was heavily immersed amongst agricultural life and the droughts which swept across Victoria in 1888. His two brothers were farmers and his uncle owned an irrigation plant. At that time, settlers in the Goulburn Valley knew that their future depended on having constant adequate supplies of water. Furphy’s recognition that drought would become a recurring problem must have been a driving force for his work on the water cart.
Originally, farmers desperately carried water up from the rivers by bucketful to fill their 200 gallon tanks. They were traditional wooden casks or square-shaped iron tanks which were used by farmers to cart water, but neither was specifically made for the sole purpose of transporting water. Most of the time farmers would construct their own form of water carriers which were rough and made out of materials that were easily available to them and could break apart and be used to make other products.
As settlement spread, the need to cart much larger quantities of water became obvious.
At the time in Australia, no similar product had been produced. Throughout Victoria’s settlement history the availability of water was always an issue and an instrumental factor in the development of the region. Drought was often considered to be resolved through a “cure”. Many schemes had been put into place with the construction of dams, weirs and bores yet the need to cart the water still remained. In times of severe drought carting water could determine survival or defeat for farmers.
For Furphy the invention of the water cart was simply devising a product that was a replacement for what farmers were already improvising with their own construction. He was the first to see the possibility of manufacturing a single item that combined a water tank and a cart to transport it.
The water cart was also used in military camps in Australia during the First World War. They were placed near communal toilets in military bases throughout Europe and the Middle East. The communal toilets at any base camp were the only places in the camp were soldiers were free to express their thoughts, gossip and disreputable sources of information. The carts were known to the soldiers as a “Furphy” and the drivers of the carts would move from camp to camp carrying not only water but gossip and sources of secret information from the previous camps. Quickly, a “Furphy” had become synonymous meaning for suspect information and rumours.
The materials and structure used in the Furphy Water Cart was what led the cart to stand out. The making of the water cart was a process of experimentation. Slowly and carefully, Furphy spent several years creating what he wanted to be the prefect water tank.
The Water Cart consists of an iron tank which is securely bolted to a wooden frame. Due to the time this cart was made, the tank is constructed from thin galvanized iron with, 4 x 9 feet long and rolled and riveted with a 1½ inch lap to give a final diameter of 34 inches. The concave ends are made from cast iron with considerable amounts of raised script. The sheets were imported from England and Germany and galvanized later in Australia.
The tank ends were shrink fitted to the tank which was the breakthrough method the made the design and structure of the Furphy Water Tank possible. A sealer has been applied from the inside to the ends providing a water tight container, sustained in rough conditions. This barrel is of standard size holding 180 gallons. The balancing of the tank on the cart involved a lot of trial and error until it was carefully balanced over the axle to ensure distribution of weight for the horse was still at a good level whether the tank was empty or full. The cart frame is made from wood and is fitted with 30 inch cast wheels. There is an cast iron opening of the top of the iron cylinder tank.
What differed John Furphy’s designs from other products of that era was his use of the ends of the tank to advertise his products and even to proclaim his company’s philosophy on life.
The lettering “FURPHY’S FARM WATER CART” was not used until 1895 which was when the significance of advertising became recognized. The raised lettering covered the whole space on the end of the tanks. The upper half holds the name of the cart and the address of the makers and the lower half displays a list of eight other products produced by J.Furphy & Sons arranged like the spokes of a wheel with “SPECIAL MANUFACTURERS” in the centre. The lettering extended to the hub of the iron wheels. Practical directions reading “KEEP THE BOLTS TIGHT” wrap around the outside and inside of the wheel. Although it was the verse on the tank proclaiming work ethic which established an appealing relationship between Furphy’s company and its customers. The intended message was used to add awareness to the buyer about the makers of the object. This effect was heightened when after the world war William Furphy, John’s son, added a message in Sir Isaac Pitman’s shorthand. It translated to "Water is the gift of God, but beer is a concoction of the devil, don't drink beer." The inscription "Good, better, best - never let it rest - till your good is better - and your better best” sits above the tap on the bottom of the tank end.
This tank has been restored and repainted with bright elaborate colours.
The cart is of great historical significance in Australia’s Economic and environmental growth. It eased drought periods and became an accessible and affordable method of relief for farmers struggling with water issues. The process of advertising on the product opened the door for many other companies who later followed the trend initially started by John Furphy. The construction methods also were a first for many companies in Victoria at that time. These firsts, allowed Furphy & Sons to become the company they are, still producing water tanks today. The family name was forever to be etched into Australian History, for the word “Furphy” was no longer a surname, but had taken on a life of its own.
image courtesy of the author
Furphy employee Uriah 'Cocky' Robinson on Furphy water cart, around 1900.
image courtesy of www.furphyfoundary.com.au
image courtesy of www.furphyfoundary.com.au
http://www.furphys.com.au/legend/water-cart.html
http://www.furphyfoundry.com.au/2_history/default.htm
http://www.furphyfoundry.com.au/2_history/default.htm
BARNES, J & FURPHY, A. (2005) "Furphy: the water cart and the word"
BARNES, J. (1998) "Made in Shepparton : the history of J. Furphy & Sons 1873-1998"
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