Cyclops (toy company)

Last updated

Cyclops
Industry Retail
Founded1913
Headquarters,
Australia
OwnerHunter Leisure Pty Ltd

Cyclops is an Australian manufacturer of toys, primarily known for children's pedal cars. The business was founded by John Heine Sheet Metal [1] at Leichhardt, New South Wales in 1913. [2] The name Cyclops was registered in 1915 [2] and the company continued to grow during the 1920s and the Great Depression. In 1946 the company name was officially changed to Cyclops Pty Ltd, but it was taken over by a British company after World War II. [2]

Contents

In 1963 Cyclops Pty Ltd celebrated its 50th anniversary by winning the Australian Wheel toy of the year. It had previously won several Australian Toy of the Year and Wheel Toy of the Year awards. [2]

In the 1970s that company was facing bankruptcy and was taken over by another British company. In the late 1980s the toys were being manufactured offshore, [3] but it was returned to Australian ownership when purchased by Hunter Toyline Pty Ltd (Now Hunter Leisure Pty Ltd) in 1992. [2]

Enthusiasts

Cyclops Toys were a major part of Australian childhood. Although the original style of toy is no longer available their appeal has continued as they are viewed as Australian icons and for many bring back memories of childhood. Groups such as Pedalmania [4] which began in Luddenham Sydney in 1997 collect information and photographs which bring happy memories of childhood in Australia.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holden</span> Defunct Australian automobile manufacturer

Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden's Limited, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, South Australia, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last three years, it switched entirely to importing cars. It was headquartered in Port Melbourne, with major industrial operations in the states of South Australia and Victoria. The 164-year-old company ceased trading at the end of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amcor</span> Packaging company

Amcor plc is a global packaging company. It develops and produces flexible packaging, rigid containers, specialty cartons, closures and services for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical-device, home and personal-care, and other products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hills Hoist</span> Height-adjustable rotary clothes line

A Hills Hoist is a height-adjustable rotary clothes line, designed to permit the compact hanging of wet clothes so that their maximum area can be exposed for wind drying by rotation. They are considered one of Australia's most recognisable icons, and are used frequently by artists as a metaphor for Australian suburbia in the 1950s and 1960s.

Meccano Ltd was a British toy manufacturing company, established in 1908 by Frank Hornby in Liverpool, England, to manufacture and distribute Meccano and other model toys and kits created by the company. During the 1920s and 1930s it became the biggest toy manufacturer in the United Kingdom and produced three of the most popular lines of toys in the twentieth century: Meccano, Hornby Trains and Dinky Toys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AWA Technology Services</span> Australian telecommunications manufacturer

AWA Technology Services, name based on former name Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd, is an Australian provider for technology related services. Throughout most of the 20th century AWA was Australia's largest and most prominent electronics organisation, undertaking development, manufacture and distribution of radio, telecommunications, television and audio equipment as well as broadcasting services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonds (clothing)</span> Australian clothing company

Pacific Brands Underwear Group, known under its core brand Bonds, was an Australian manufacturer and is now a subsidiary of Hanesbrands. It is an importer of men's, women's and children's underwear and clothing. The head office is located at 115 Cotham Rd in Kew, Melbourne. They sell a range of clothing including underwear and sleepwear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villiers Engineering</span> Historical motorcycle manufacturer

Villiers Engineering was a manufacturer of motorcycles and cycle parts, and an engineering company based in Villiers Street, Wolverhampton, England.

Aeroplane Jelly is a jelly brand in Australia created in 1927 by Bert Appleroth. Appleroth's backyard business, Traders Pty Ltd, became one of Australia's largest family-operated food manufacturers and was sold to McCormick Foods Australia, a subsidiary of United States corporation McCormick & Company, in 1995. Aeroplane Jelly is the market leader in Australia's jelly market, with over 18 million packets sold annually. Strawberry is the best-selling flavour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ampol</span> Australian multinational petroleum retail company

Ampol Limited is an Australian petroleum company headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales. Ampol is the largest transport energy distributor and retailer in Australia, with more than 1,900 Ampol-branded stations across the country as of October 2022. Ampol also operates in New Zealand through its subsidiary Z Energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnebago Industries</span> American motorhome manufacturer

Winnebago Industries, Inc. is an American manufacturer of motorhomes, a type of recreational vehicle (RV), in the United States. In 2018, the company expanded into motorboat manufacturing with the acquisition of Chris-Craft Corporation. Winnebago has also manufactured light-to-medium utility vehicles as well as other products. The company is named after Winnebago County, Iowa, where it used to be headquartered. The county is named after the Native American tribe who have historically lived in the area. During the 1970s and 1980s, Winnebago Industries depended on Native American history and traditions in naming their products, for example "Chieftain" and "Brave." They also used Native American iconography and patterns in their designs and period advertisements.

Breville Group Limited or simply Breville is an Australian multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances, headquartered in the inner suburb of Alexandria, Sydney. The company's brands include Breville, Kambrook and Ronson. In the UK and Europe the company, firming as Sage Appliances, goes to market as the Sage brand and as the Breville brand in the rest of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victa</span>

Victa is an Australian manufacturer of outdoor garden equipment, including petrol, electric, and battery-powered lawn mowers, edgers, trimmers, and chainsaws. The brand is best known as a manufacturer of rotary lawn mowers. In the early 1960s the company also built light aircraft, notably the Victa Airtourer, and project homes.

Brickworks is Australia's largest brick manufacturer, consisting of four divisions – Building Products Australia, Building Products North America, Industrial Property, and Investments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automotive industry in Australia</span> Car making industry in Australia

A substantial car industry was created in Australia in the 20th century through the opening of Australian plants by international manufacturers. The first major carmaker was Ford Australia and the first Australian-designed mass production car was manufactured by Holden in 1948. Australian manufacture of cars rose to a maximum of almost half a million in the 1970s and still exceeded 400,000 in 2004. Australia was best known for the design and production of 'large' sized passenger vehicles. By 2009 total production had fallen to around 175,000 and the Australian market was dominated by cars imported from Asia and Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hills Limited</span>

Hills Limited (Hills) was a publicly listed industrial conglomerate company (ASX:HIL) with branches across Australia and New Zealand. Hills is the evolution of Hills Hoist Ltd, the company founded by Lance Hill and Harold Ling in 1948 to manufacture the Hills Hoist clothesline. Hills was a value-added distributor of security and surveillance systems, IT infrastructure, nurse call and patient engagement technology. In 2023, Hills went into voluntary administration.

BSA Company Limited is a motorcycle manufacturer which purchased rights to the BSA name from Birmingham Small Arms Company's successor, Dennis Poore's Manganese Bronze Holdings, upon the liquidation of Norton Villiers Triumph in 1978.

W. H. Burford and Sons was a soap and candle-making business founded in Adelaide in 1840 by William Henville Burford (1807–1895), an English butcher who arrived in the new colony in 1838. It was one of the earliest soapmakers in Australia, and up to the 1960s when it closed, the oldest. In 1878 he took his two sons Benjamin and William into partnership as W. H. Burford & Sons. Its expansion, accompanied by a number of takeovers, made it the dominant soap manufacturer in South Australia and Western Australia. Its founders were noted public figures in the young city of Adelaide.

Skins, stylized SKINS, is an Australian manufacturing company founded in 1996 that designs and produces compression garment for athletes and sports enthusiasts. After filing for bankruptcy in 2019, the company was acquired by Hong Kong-based holding Symphony, which owns rights over the "Skins" brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bickford's Australia</span> Australian beverage manufacturer

Bickford's Australia Pty. Ltd. is an Australian beverage manufacturer based in South Australia. The brand produces traditional cordials, soft drinks, and iced coffee mix originally manufactured by A. M. Bickford & Sons, a pharmaceutical chemist founded by Anne Margaret Bickford in 1864. In 1999, the brandname was acquired by the Kotses family and later renamed Bickford's Australia, after which the brand saw a revival in popularity with the introduction of new flavours and products. In 2006, Bickford's lime juice cordial was recognised by the National Trust of South Australia as a Heritage Icon.

Marjory Fainges is an Australian researcher and historian on the subject of the Australian Toy Industry over the last 100 years in particular the commercial manufacture of dolls. She has written 16 books and is a doll judge of antique, collectible, modern and artist dolls and she has lectured internationally.

References

  1. "Cyclops Toy Factory, Leichardt". History of Sydney, unveiling Sydney's hidden past. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Cyclops since 1913" (PDF). Hunter Leisure. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  3. "Cyclops Toys Article by Marjory Fainges". Cycle Collection. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  4. "Home page Pedalmania". Pedalmania. Retrieved 29 July 2016.

Further reading