John Furphy
Australian blacksmith
John Furphy (17 June 1842 – 23 September 1920) was an Australian blacksmith credited with inventing the "furphy", a water cart that was used by the Australian army during the first World War.
Early life
Furphy was born on 17 June 1842 in Moonee Ponds, Colony of New South Wales, the eldest son of farmer Samuel Furphy and dressmaker Judith (née Hare), both of whom were Irish immigrants. Initially home-schooled, Furphy later attended public schools in Kangaroo Ground and Kyneton. His younger brother was the author Joseph Furphy, best known for the Australian novel Such is Life.
Career
Furphy first found employment at the Kyneton-based farm machinery manufacturer Hutcheson & Walker, before becoming an independent blacksmith in 1864. Moving to nearby Shepparton in 1873, he established the first blacksmith's shop in the township, gradually expanding into iron works. By 1888, Furphy had the most extensive foundry in northern Victoria. His patented grain stripper, which preceded the combine harvester, was awarded the first prize at the 1884 Grand National Show. His agricultural machinery, including a grain stripper, a furrow plough and iron swingletrees, were likewise acclaimed at the International Exhibition from 1888 to 1889.
Furphy's most recognised agricultural product was the "Furphy Farm Water Cart", a water cart with a 818 litres (180 imp gal; 216 US gal) cylindrical tank made of iron, placed in a wooden frame on cast-iron wheels and horizontally mounted to be harnessed by a horse.
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This entry incorporates text from “John Furphy” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.