Matamata 5: Agricultural miscellany

These are items on display at the Firth Tower Museum, Matamata.

Double furrow straight mouldboard plough. A mouldboard plough in use today.



Hay Bale Loader. How to build one.


Reid and Grey (Dunedin) Cultivator. "Used to work up the soil after ploughing, tractor drawn," according to the name tag.


Grader, used in road making. Originally horse-drawn, later adapted to be pulled by tractor.

Massey-Harris hay mower. From the tag: "Horse drawn. The cutter bar was lowered and the triangular knives moved back and forth cutting the grass and laying it in a line or 'swath' so that it could dry in the sun. Later a turner would be used to help dry the hay evenly before being put on the stack. Sharpening the mower blades was a frequent task for the farmer."

Light cultivator. "Originally horse drawn, but modified to be pulled by a tractor. Used in market gardening or for deep rooted row crops such as potatoes."


Tine harrows. "Used after ploughing instead of discs to work up the soil. The spikes (tines) break up lumps in the soil. The sections fold up for easy storage and transport. Tractor drawn."


Cultivator. "Used on rough ground for deep cultivation for planting potatoes or other deep rooted crops. The springs allow the tines to ride over obstacles such as rocks or stumps. This machine was tractor drawn. "


McEwen deep well beam water pump. "Used to pump water from a well."


Hay stacker. Here's a similar one from America, 1940s.