Manufactured 1906-1915 by Gard Bros. Motor and Cycle Works, 21 and 23 Gouger Street Adelaide and 45 O'Connell Street North Adelaide.
Advertisements for c.1915 spoke of Guard Cycles and Motor Cycles, and Rex Tricars and Motor Cycles - there was no further mention of the Guard motor cycle until 1920, when they advertised the Guard JAP which was most likely a rebadged machine supplied by J.N. Taylor & Co.
S.A. Registrations
The Register (Adelaide, SA) Sat 23 Dec 1905
GARD BROS.
MOTOR AND CYCLE WORKS AND GARAGE,
21 and 23, GOUGER-STREET, and 45 O'CONNELL STREET, N.A. Telephone 659.
REX MOTOR CYCLES, 3 1/4-H.P., £42 30/.
GUARD MOTOR CYCLES, built to order.
GUARD BICYCLES, from £8 8/ (fully guaranteed)
All Motor and Cycle Repairs and Accessories
First-class Storage for Cars.
The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA) Mon 2 Apr 1906
...the name of Gard Brothers, motor and cycle works, of Adelaide and North Adelaide, has earned an enviable reputation. They have one of the most up-to-date factories and showrooms in Australia. and they carry a large stock of every machine to meet the demand of cyclists and motorists...
The firm are sole agents for the Rex Motor, Company, of Coventry, England...
In the factory are the latest methods, machinery, and tools are employed in producing the famous Guard bicycles, and these can be seen in every stage of construction, from the rough forcing or stamping to the finished and beautifully-enameled machine ready for the road...
Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA) Mon 20 May 1907
Gard Bros do a large business with their popular "Guard" motor cycles, for which catalogues and price lists are sent on application. They are built to order to customers' requirements The Rex motor, cycle and tri car, for which the firm are agents, is claimed to be the king of British motors.
Quorn Mercury (SA) Tue 18 Dec 1906
From originally building push bicycles and leasing them at 1/ an hour, 38 years ago, the brothers John and Alf, Gard. of Gouger street, began in 1904 in the motor cycle trade, and immediately obtained several agencies, such as the Rex. Connaught, T. D. Cross, Yale, and Blumefield [sic]. With the improvement of motor mechanism, the Douglas, Triumph, and Radco agencies were taken over. The Douglas machine proved very successful for dispatch work during the Great War.
Owing to the expansion of the business of Gard Bros., larger premises were called for and the firm moved to the present site near the place where the business was formed. These premises enabled a larger volume of business to be handled, and consequently the Invincible J.A.P., James, New Hudson, and H.R.D. motor cycle agencies were obtained.
In 1929. because of the death of his father, Mr. J. B. Gard, Mr. Harold Gard became sole proprietor of the business. Some of the staff have been with Gard Bros, for 15 to 25 years, including Mr. Ewen, manager. Mr. Grosvenor, accountant, Mr. Carter, salesman, and Mr. King, foreman.
The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA), Wed 12 Jul 1933. (Trove NLA)
N.B. Blumefield = Blumfield
Sources: State Library SA, Trove NLA.
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