Earliest Lithgow Rifles

[muffett.2008]

We have discussed this before, not reaching any conclusion due to lack of information, but while trawling through a few files I came across a snippet of enlightenment.

As we have recently been following the Pratt and Whitney rifle sold from the Farris Collection, it reminded me of the followup rifles produced as out of run production before the 1913 rifles were made.

I have previously put up information on these rifles, the first 10 being in a test run, followed by two presentation rifles, these being presented to Parliament and the Minister of Defence, before the SAF began it's normal production.

That meant that there were twelve rifles not counted in production figures, manufactured in 1912.
The question was were they dated 1912?..........it looks like a no.

Both the presentation rifles were not marked in anyway, clean skins, so we can assume that the preceding 10 rifles(9 given to assembly staff, the other was on display in the managers office, taken by Radcliffe when he resigned) were also cleanskins.

So for us serious Collectors, the jobs not finished yet.
Attachment 83255

Also note the early use of Coachwood.

Information

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