Furphy Water Cart

 On display in the Implement Shed at the Schramm’s Cottage Historic Complex there is an axle mounted on two steel wheels that once carried a famous Furphy Water Tank. This was donated to the Society in 1991 by Richard Person and had been used on his father’s family orchard in Ringwood. The water tank was badly corroded and had been scrapped sometime earlier. 

The Furphy family were early pioneer settlers in Kangaroo Ground and moved to Shepparton in the late 1870’s where John Furphy established his foundry business and built his first water cart. This was the complete invention of John Furphy and no similar cart was available in Australia or in fact the rest of the world at that time. 

The water tank consisted of a galvanised sheet metal cylinder 3 feet in diameter with two cast iron ends. The 180 gallon tank unit proved most popular because when filled it weighed about a ton and was a fair load for a good horse. The tank was carefully balanced over the axle to distribute the weight for the horse whether the tank was full or empty. 

The raised lettering on the cast iron ends was modified over the years. In 1890 it read simply, “J. Furphy, maker, Shepparton.” In 1895 a short rhyme with a strong message was added, “Good, better, best – never let it rest – till your good is better – and your better, best.” Then in 1910 William Furphy, the son of the founder, added the inscription in Pitman’s shorthand which when translated read, “Water is the gift of God, but beer and whisky are concoctions of the devil, come and have a drink of water.” 

Furphy Water Carts were widely used during World War 1 by the military on camps in Australia, Europe and the Middle East. They were typically placed near latrines and the drivers of the carts were notorious for gossip as they moved from camp to camp. Not all their news was reliable and so it was that the word Furphy rapidly became an Australian slang for suspect information or rumour. Production of the water carts and cast iron ends ceased in 1983 after more than 100 years. 

However there is a garden seat on the north lawn of Schramm’s Cottage that was donated in 2010 by Christine Moss in memory of her ancestors. The engraved silver plaque on the seat reads “In memory of the Zelius Family, Early Pioneers in Doncaster”. This seat made by Furphy Foundry, Shepparton in 2010 is an example how an old established fourth generation family business can adapt to changing markets. The cast aluminium seat ends have the name Furphy embossed on them. 

The Furphy Museum in Shepparton is well worth a visit to see the many products made by this company with photographs and other interesting exhibits. 

Source: John Boylett writing in 2019-03 DTHS Newsletter