Austin Ryan
| Austin Ryan OAM | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Austin Ryan on day of receiving his Order of Australia Medal (OAM) | |
| Born | Austin Timothy Ryan 18 February 1925 Melbourne, Victoria |
| 💀Died | 21 April 2005 (aged 80) Horsham, Victoria21 April 2005 (aged 80) |
| 💼 Occupation | Inventor |
| Known for | Ryan Scaravator, Auspoint Press Harrows |
Austin Timothy Ryan OAM OAM (18 February 1925 - 21 April 2005) was an Australian Inventor in the agricultural field known for developing the Ryan Scaravator. He subsequently established the manufacturing of "Ryan" agricultural products. His innovative Scaravator design overtook the industry and propelled his company. Ultimately, becoming one of the largest privately held agricultural equipment manufacturers in Australia for its time.
Early life[edit]
Ryan was born in Elsternwick and raised on the family farm at Galaquil, near Beulah in the Mallee.
His machinery inventions and plant nurture systems, designed over 50 years, have increased their efficiency and significantly boosted their cropping cropping returns.
Ryan was awarded an Order of Australia Medal Order of Australia Medal in 2001 for service to the rural cropping industry as an inventor of crop farming equipment and introducing innovative growing methods.[1] The medal for eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree is in the general division. He joined only two agricultural machinery pioneers to be similarly honoured. They were, posthumously, the developer of the mechanical grain harvester, Hugh Victor McKay, of HV McKay Sunshine, and seeding and cultivation equipment pioneer Tom Connor, of Connor Shea Ltd.[2]
In his school years, Ryan built billy carts and the like and was renowned for his Meccano set creations. He won a Beulah Show award at the age of 11 with a model semi-trailer.
Ryan returned from boarding school at 14 to work the farm, and one of the things he made was a wind-powered light using a T Model Ford gearbox and generator.
Ryan Manufacturing[edit]
Ryan began developing farm equipment in his workshop in 1960. His first major innovation was a cross between a scarifier and a cultivator — The Scaravator. After licencing The Scaravator to Bolwell & Johns (Horsham), Austin realised a need for more productivity on farms.
In 1972, Ryan began manufacturing the Ryan Scaravator, a superior cultivator compared to the original Scaravator. It became one of the most recognised spring release cultivators. It was 5.2m wide, hinged in the middle to cope with uneven ground, and was the world's first wide line spring release cultivator. In the beginning, the first 50 units were constructed on the family farm. Eventually, due to exponential sales, manufacturing relocated to Warracknabeal in Victoria's northwest. Hundreds of these machines were made at factories in Horsham, Victoria, Parkes, New South Wales, Mallala, South Australia, and Perth, Western Australia, with exports in South Africa[3], the United Kingdom[4] and the United States.
In 1976, for winter planting, Ryan built an airseeder for use on his farm. This pioneered a new level for planting seed versus the conventional drill system. In particular, the seed hopper component that would straddle over the cultivator.
He patented an airseeder in 1978, and his other inventions have included a chisel plough, twist-on shear points, a coulter drill and a trash float system.
In 1983, Ryan invented a single-disc planter and, in 1986, his deep banding system[5]. Farmer acceptance was challenging at times. Nowadays, both concepts are standard practice on farms.
His revolutionary deep banding tine and sowing boot system for fertilizer and seed won significant awards in the US in 1991. Farmers reported crop yield increases of more than 300 per cent using the system, which has been adopted worldwide.
Later life[edit]
Paul, their other son, joined the family business in the late 1980s and later on began managing it. The Ryan business subsequently became known as Ryan Farm Machinery, which continued to produce patented machinery developed by Ryan.
Ryan regarded his last major invention, the Auspoint Press Harrows, as his best. The machine uses unique self-cleaning offset springs instead of rubber press wheels to level a paddock behind an airseeder-cultivator rig. Rubber wheels are known to clogging in sticky soil
Ryan won Australian Inventor of the Year in 1990 and then won the Inventor of the Year in the USA the same year.[1] He took out 33 patents in various countries, of which 26 are Australian.[2] Austin and his wife of 54 years, Doreen, were married in 1948. Two of their three sons Timothy (1973) and Brendan (1978), died in car crashes.[6]
Ryan died in Horsham in 2005.[7]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shand, J. "Austin Ryan, still cultivating ideas", The Wimmera Mail-Times, 26 January 2001
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Inventor Leaves A Global Legacy", The Wimmera Mail-Times, 2005
- ↑ "Seeder off to South Africa", Warracknabeal Herald, 27 February 1981
- ↑ "Machines head for Europe", Warracknabeal Herald, 1984
- ↑ "World Wide Potential for new Ryan Sowing System", Warracknabeal Herald, 03 July 1990
- ↑ "Warrack Road Claims 2 More Lives", Warracknabeal Herald, 10 January 1978
- ↑ "Austin Ryan Obituary (2005)", Herald Sun, 22 April 2005
External links[edit]
- High Plains Journal. New harrow features many capabilities.
- Ryan Farming Machinery NoTill. History of Ryan Farm Machinery.
- Ryan Farming Machinery NoTill Blog. Austin Ryan, still cultivating ideas (Newspaper Article)
Austin Timothy Ryan[edit]
This article "Austin Timothy Ryan" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Austin Timothy Ryan. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
