Designed by brothers Richard and Clarence Smith of Yorke Peninsula, the stump jump plough allowed farmers to cultivate the land without removing rocks and stumps. Along with the Ridley stripper (another South Australian invention), the stump jump plough revolutionised farming worldwide.

Widespread land clearing in the 1860s and 1870s meant a vast number of mallee stumps were left in the ground. This posed an expensive problem to farmers as they tried to plough their land. The stump jump plough was designed to jump over the stumps, thus protecting the implement from breakage and avoiding the cost of removing each individual stump.

In June 1876 Richard Smith's first stump jump plough was produced in his blacksmith's shop. It was a three furrow version which was too heavy to be easily pulled by a horse team. When a bullock team was used instead of horses, they bolted and smashed the new plough a clump into nearby trees. A lighter single furrow model was then developed.

On 9 November 1876 Richard exhibited both the triple and single furrow ploughs at the Moonta Agricultural Show. He named the single furrow model, the 'Vixen stone and stump jumping plough'. His younger brother, Clarence Herbert Smith, had produced the working drawings while apprenticed to Richard at Port Wakefield. He constructed the first stump jump ploughs under Richard's direction. Clarence later continued to improve the design while farming at Kalkabury.

A number of Australians claimed to be the original inventor of the stump jump plough but in 1882, after some controversy, the South Australian government recognised the claim of Richard Bowyer Smith. He was awarded a gold medal, five hundred pounds and land at Ardrossan on the Yorke Peninsula. Richard had patented the invention 1877 but due to failures in performance and the expense of renewal, he allowed the patent to lapse a year later. He moved to Western Australia in 1884 and eventually set up a business to manufacture the stump jump plough. At various times he also took up a farming lease, ran a hotel and managed a railway refreshments room. Richard remained in Western Australia until his death in 1919 at the age of 81.

Meanwhile Clarence had married Emma Beck in 1879 and established a factory at Ardrossan in 1880 where he began manufacturing improved versions of the original plough. He died of illness in 1901 at the age of 45. He prepared his teenage sons Glen and Alma Smith to carry on the business. They did this very successfully for thirty years until the economic downturn caused by the 1930s Depression forced the business to close.

As the master blacksmith, Richard is often acknowledged as the inventor of the plough, but both brothers should be credited.

Kelly, WS Rural development in South Australia, Adelaide: Rigby, 1962

McPhee, Margaret The dictionary of Australian inventors and discoveries, St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 1993

Neumann, Beryl The Smith brothers and the stump jump plough, Maitland, SA: National Trust of South Australia, Central Yorke Peninsula Branch, 1986

Port, Leo with Brian Murray Australian inventors, Stanmore, NSW: Cassell Australia, 1978

Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, Richard Bowyer Smith

Flinders Ranges Research: Smith brothers, stump jump plough

SAMemory See other versions of the stump jump plough here.