themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car 75ELSEWHERE IN THIS
ISSUE, PATRICK HARLOW
DESCRIBES A CAR THAT
WAS SUPPOSED TO BE
NEW ZEALAND’S FIRST
PRODUCTION CAR. HERE,
HE TELLS OF AN EVEN
MORE REMARKABLE CAR
— MADE ENTIRELY IN
NEW ZEALAND NEARLY
50 YEARS EARLIER
he started work with Starley Bros making safety bicycles.
The ambitious Birch was soon designing and building
his own bicycle — including the wheels, which he hand
rolled — first called the ‘Foleshill’, then the ‘George
Eliot’, probably after his father. It contained the first
ever oil-retaining hub, one of the few inventions that
Birch bothered to patent. Demand for the bicycles was
such that Birch started mass-producing them with a
workforce of about 20 workers. The bicycle by itself
was quite profitable; however, as an engineer, Birch was
fascinated with the internal-combustion engine, and,
with his brother and friends, he worked out a way to
build a self-propelled bicycle, devising and building
an engine that could be brazed to the chassis of their
existing pedal bike. Not long into the new century, the
George Eliot motorcycle was born.Fortune before family
In 1904, a year before he headed to New Zealand, Birch
proved the George Eliot’s reliability by riding it the
length of Britain from Land’s End to John o’ Groats.
A year earlier, he had sold the rights to the design to
Bradbury, a manufacturer of sewing machines. Bradbury
started production of its own bike, the better-known
Bradbury motorcycle; it was almost an exact copy of the
George Eliot, which continued to be produced.
After Birch left for New Zealand, his brother Fred
took over the business, and George Eliot motorcycles
were manufactured for a total of 25 years. The company
closed down when Fred retired.
Birch arrived in New Zealand in 1905, leaving
behind a wife and three daughters. It is not known
why he left his family. “He left us in February 1905,”
said his daughter, Gladys. “He intended to stay for
only five years. He was always in communication with
us, saying he was coming home, but unfortunately he
never did. My father was terribly ambitious, and was
filled with the desire to make a name for himself in the
motor industry.”
Birch was 38 when he arrived. He settled in
Blenheim, where he worked in a garage until he had
raised enough money to start his own business, the
Marlborough Engineering Company. Within three
years, he had built it up to be the biggest business in
town. Then he decided to create his own car.Seven years of labour
Starting from scratch, Birch built almost every part
himself to his own exacting standards. If it was not
going to be reliable, what was the point of building it?
Birch took the patterns for the engine components to
the Anchor Foundry in Nelson for casting. The patterns
were so intricate and delicate that the foundry was not
very happy about doing the job, so Birch offered to do
it himself using their equipment. The job took him four
days. After that, the Anchor Foundry was confident that
it could reproduce any engine block that existed.
With the castings in hand, Birch headed back to
Blenheim to machine them, along with the crank and
camshafts. The pistons and valves were turned from
rough stampings. He bored out the blocks, cut his own
gears, which he embedded in clay and then heat-treated
to white-hot in his furnace for days. Then, he quenchedAbove: 1904 George Eliot motorcycle
(source: MHS archives — VF Birch)
Right: John North Birch
Below: Marlborough-Carlton
(source: Marlborough VCC)