Alfred Hannaford (1890 – 25 August 1969) was a
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
n inventor and industrialist, remembered for his wheat pickling machines.
History
Alfred Hannaford was a son of John (17 February 1849 – 25 May 1909) and Elizabeth Hannaford, née Shearer (1852 – c. 6 November 1924), and lived at "Wattle Vale" farm near
Riverton, South Australia
Riverton is a small town in the Mid North of South Australia, in the Gilbert Valley. It is situated on the Gilbert River, from which the town derives its name. Both the Gilbert Valley and Gilbert River were named after South Australian pioneer ...
; she moved to 57 Fourth Avenue
St. Peters before 1924. Her family relationship with
J. & D. Shearer, if any, has not yet been determined.
He was educated at Riverton Public School then worked on the family farm.
Some time before 1915 he developed a wheat pickling machine, which found considerable acceptance among practical farmers. The machine was capable of treating eight to twelve bags of wheat with
bluestone (copper sulphate) solution and separating
smut and other contamination from whole grain prior to planting. The apparatus was based on a trough with a copper
Archimedean screw
The Archimedes screw, also known as the Archimedean screw, hydrodynamic screw, water screw or Egyptian screw, is one of the earliest hydraulic machines. Using Archimedes screws as water pumps (Archimedes screw pump (ASP) or screw pump) dates back ...
to transport the grain from the input hopper to the delivery spout. A particular feature was its removal of adhering air bubbles, ensuring total wetting of the grain.
He then developed the "Ideal" dry-pickling machine, using
basic copper carbonate
Basic copper carbonate is a chemical compound, more properly called copper(II) carbonate hydroxide. It is an ionic compound (a salt) consisting of the ions copper(II) , carbonate , and hydroxide .
The name most commonly refers to the compound wi ...
as the
fungus-fighting medium, and coupled the apparatus with a grader to separate healthy fat seed from lower grades, cracked and weed seeds. He then purchased rights to the Farm Type Carter wheat separator, which performed the grading function with a greater degree of discrimination.
The firm of Alf Hannaford & Co., Ltd. was founded in August 1925.
At the company's
silver jubilee, the chairman of
Horwood Bagshaw Ltd. quoted the statistic that of the 16 million acres of wheat sown annually in Australia, over 14 million had passed through Hannaford's machines.
Hannaford retired as managing director in 1960 and died at the
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville and was cremated. The greater part of his nearly $500,000 fortune was bequeathed to the
Waite Agricultural Research Institute
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
.
Other interests
*Hannaford enjoyed travelling, particularly to South Africa and Europe.
*He was an active member of
Rotary International
Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...
.
*He was an adherent of the Methodist church and served as lay preacher.
[
]
Recognition
*Hannaford was appointed MBE in 1961.[
*He is commemorated by a ]Jubilee 150 Walkway
The Jubilee 150 Walkway, also variously known as the Jubilee 150 Commemorative Walk, the Jubilee 150 Walk, Jubilee 150 Plaques, the Jubilee Walk, or simply J150, is a series of (initially) 150 bronze plaques set into the pavement of Nort ...
plaque on North Terrace.
Family
Alfred Hannaford was a great-grandson of Susannah Hannaford
Susannah Hannaford, ''née'' Elliott (25 December 1790 – 7 April 1861) was an early immigrant to South Australia.
History
Susannah and her husband William Hannaford (28 April 1797 – 1838) lived in Rattery, Devon and brought up a large family. ...
, and was closely related to a number of notable South Australian Hannafords.
He married (Ivy) Julia Hill ( – 1975) on 2 April 1913, lived at "Wattle Vale", Riverton, later Norman Street, Woodville.. Their children include:
*Hedley Garfield Hannaford (30 August 1914 – 2002) was engaged to Ronda Goldney of Norwood in September 1941.
*Ivy Joyce Hannaford (14 July 1917 – )
*Murray Alfred Hannaford (24 April 1924 – 2000) was engaged to Wilma L. Rauert of Dimboola, Victoria
Dimboola is a town in the Shire of Hindmarsh in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia, 334 kilometres north-west of Melbourne.
History
Situated on the Wimmera River, Dimboola was previously known as 'Nine Creeks'. Following a survey ...
in May 1948.
Further reading
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannaford, Alfred
20th-century Australian inventors
20th-century Australian engineers
1890 births
1969 deaths