Trescowthick Motorcycles

The car built in the early 1900's by Charles Trescowthick in Bent Street, Adelaide. It was powered by an air-cooled 2¾hp De Dion. He built 2¾hp De Dion-powered motorcycles, one of which he took to an event in Victoria (p.39). His main business was acetylene generators for lighting houses and public buildings. That was a dangerous pursuit as acetylene is inclined to explode, which happened when he was soldering a gas receiver. He survived that, but succumbed to meningitis on the battlefield in 1916. He built the car shown, but it was not a success, so the motor was removed and fitted to a tri-car, also built by him. The photo below of a motorless car being horsedrawn in the 1906 'Prosh' procession shows that it remained intact to then, but disappeared after the event. The tri-car survives, unrestored, but with the original motor.

Terry Parker of the VVMCSA.