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Story: Farm mechanisation

Reid & Gray reaping machine

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Reid & Gray reaping machine

This horse-drawn reaping machine was advertised in the 1879 catalogue of Reid & Gray, an early New Zealand agricultural machinery firm. James Gray, one of the founders, had immigrated from Scotland. He had skills in making farm implements, and contacts with overseas manufacturers.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: AANR 6329 22 DA 31 311

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

James Watson, Farm mechanisation – Reasons for mechanisation, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/ephemera/18327/reid-gray-reaping-machine (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by James Watson, published 1 March 2009.