Jelbart

Jelbart_Booleroo07_1b.jpg
Jelbart at the Booleroo Steam & Traction
Preservation Society Museum,
Booleroo Centre, South Australia in 2007.

Jelbart

George and Frank Jelbart founded the Jelbart Bros. firm at Ballarat, Victoria in 1911 and were pioneers in Australian internal combustion engine design. Around 1914 they installed one of their “No. 8” oil engines in the first Jelbart tractor. By 1917 they were offering two models, an 8 hp and a 12 hp, which were unusual in their use of a segmented belt drive from the engine to the transmission. Many Jelbart tractors were custom-built for the buyer, and their rugged simplicity appealed to the Australian farmer.