South Australian Motor Cycle Club Easter Carnival held at Kadina. B.T. Carroll riding an Elliott-Villiers, who came second in the 100 mile event.
Manufactured 1912-1935 by Elliott Garage & Cycle Factory, Payneham, with showroom at 91 Flinders Street Adelaide by Laurie A. Elliott and Bertrand Elliott. [1]
Early models used Precision, Velocette and JAP engines, mounted in a Chater Lea chassis. Later they also used Sun frames. Most had Elliott Payneham displayed on the fuel tank.
In 1917 the Elliott Bros. exhibited bicycles and motorcycles at the Adelaide Royal Show to considerable acclaim, with the result that many country dealers began to sell their products, including Elliott-Villiers two-strokes.
Registrations - a sampling:
Two Elliotts were registered in the first week of May 1916.
Three new 2¾ Elliotts were registered in SA during one week of Jan 1917.
One in the last week of May 1917.
One in the first week of June 1917.
Two in the last 2 weeks of August 1917.
Two in the first week of October 1917.
One in the second week of February 1918.
Most of the newspaper articles state that "A fairly large proportion comprise re-registration by fresh owners."
An advertisement from 1922 announced that the Automobile Association was using these machines.
It is thought that they may have rebadged Wolf motorcycles in the late 1920s until 1935.
Elliott's sold other marques, for instance Raleigh in 1931, Panther in 1931-34, Calthorpe in 1931-1934, and Singer cars in 1938. [2]
Ted Warren became a test rider for Elliott's motorcycles in 1917, and competed in the lightweight class, gaining many laurels. He endured a serious accident in 1923.
The Gawler Place business in Adelaide employed Jack Wise and Frank Duckett who both became international speedway riders.
Victor Elliott, the younger brother of Bertrand Elliott, became a partner in the new location at 63 Pirie Street, Adelaide. Victor was already quite well known in the motorcycle field and held several records. He also became a cycling champion.
In 1928 Elliott Bros ceased selling motorcycles to concentrate on bicycles.
Birdwood Mill has two of these motorcycles, a 1926 Villiers 172cc and a 1923 300cc JAP.
Sources: Simon Fleming's Australian Motorcycles, Trove NLA, aussievelos.net, et al.
Reliable Elliott Villiers.
The Elliott Villiers 1¾ h.p. motor cycle was the lowest powered machine in the competition at Sellick Beach recently, and was only allowed three seconds start on a 2½ h.p. machine. The handicappers of the Motor Cycle Club evidently hold a high opinion of the Elliott featherweight motor cycles. It is gratifying to see that these low powered machines have sufficient speed to get into first and second place in their heats and fourth and fifth in the final of the under 600 class. It was the first time that S. N. Rowe had ridden in a competition.
Trove NLA: News (Adelaide, SA), Mon 6 Apr 1925, Page 8.
Laurie Elliott, who in 1905 opened a cycle shop in Payneham, had been trained as a market gardener and shoe repairer, but he was not afraid to try something new, learning as he worked. At first he repaired and hired out bicycles, then began to make his own behind the shop. After 1910 he diversified into motor-cycles and soon started making them as well.
By 1914 he was selling his own 3½ h.p. models using Precision, Veloce and J.A.P. engines. More powerful engines were put into machines intended to carry a sidecar.
Late in 1916 the business became Elliotts' Garage, as the founder was joined by his brother, B. J. Elliott. About this time, a rugged 100-mile race around Yorke Peninsula showed the equally rugged quality of Elliott machines, as C. Lawrence on a 2½ h.p. Elliott won the event against all sizes in 2½ hours. B. J. and L. A. Elliott came in fourth and fifth. In 1922 their machines again did well in this testing road race, when riders on the popular Elliott Villiers 2-stroke gained second, seventh and eighth places. About that time, the Elliott Villiers 1½ h.p. model with two-speed gear could be had for £40, while the 3 h.p. model with three-speed gear and capable of pulling a sidecar cost £69.10s. However, the locally made machines could not compete with the sophisticated British machines...
From Page 105 of what appears to be a history of Payneham, posted to FB.
Notes
1. In 1920 things got complicated when a dispute caused a division of the partnership, with the result that there were two separate "Elliott" businesses. See aussievelos.net.
2. Dates refer to verified sources, e.g. newspaper advertisements - marques listed were probably sold in other years.
3. In 1904 Elliott of Islington, London sold Bradbury-engined motorcycles.
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