ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the motoring age, around the turn of the twentieth century, there were several engineers in Australia who devoted their efforts to what was then the novelty of producing horseless carriages. David Shearer, for example, a South Australian who manufactured agricultural machinery, built a steampowered vehicle in 1896. In the same year Herbert Thompson of Melbourne produced the first of his nine 'Pioneer' steam cars, and a vehicle powered by an imported Benz internal combustion engine appeared on the roads of that city. These and a few motor tricycles and motorized bicycles were in operation in Melbourne and Sydney before 1900.1
At that time, and until the mid-1900s, the internal combustion engine as a source of power had yet to demonstrate convincingly its superiority over steam and electricity. Indeed, steam-powered cars continued to be produced in the United States into the 1930s.2 As late as 1906, according to one source, 'steam seemed destined to become the motor power for future cars'.3 All of the requirements were there for its widespread adoption. The technology involved was well established, developed from the railway locomotive and the later widespread adoption of steam traction engines for threshing grain crops. There was a pool of skilled labour available for maintenance. Water was also readily available in urban areas from the many public horse troughs. Until the late 1900s steam-powered vehicles had the potential for higher speeds (a desirable objective among early motoring enthusiasts) than those depending on electricity or internal combustion engines fuelled by oil derivatives. A steam car established the world land speed record in 1906. Above all, steam was a relatively reliable source of motive power and the engine was relatively uncomplicated. When a Stanley steam-driven car from the US was exhibited in Melbourne in 1922, the reported advantages stressed were that 'there are no gears, clutch, fly-wheel, timing gears, universals, noise, leaking radiator, overheating; no magneto troubles, ignition troubles, spark plugs, carbon
troubles; no stalling in traffic, or when in mud, sand, or on a steep hill'. Repairs as a consequence were 'almost unknown' and the rate of depreciation was estimated to be a third that of a car with an internal combustion engine.4
