Bill Gleeson demonstrates the scythe and cradle action for a TV crew.
One of the more unusual harvesting tools in the Pioneer Museum, and certainly the oldest, is this grain cradle and scythe.
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Patented in 1823, it began as a normal cutting scythe but attached was a claw-like wooden cradle.
After seasons of use, they often broke and were discarded, however, this one survived in the Savernake district.
Scythe and cradle displayed among early harvesters in the Mulwala Pioneer Museum.
Prior to this tool, crops were harvested with sickle, which was back-breaking work. Whereas the scythe allowed the operator to remain upright.
The cradle is a series of light wooden ‘fingers’ above the blade. When the crop was cut, it was neatly laid down in a windrow, all the seed heads facing in the same direction.
Then it was tied into sheaves for threshing; an ideal process for small farming areas.
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