From the land down under

[The Great Maudu]

Whenever I see a pic of a creature that looks so unique I think it might be from another planet I know it has to be from Australia. Same with Fishing reels. The gentleman I got this from explained the fitting sticking out the front was an air compressor hook up. He guessed it help with casting or winding or maybe was some kind of air brake. I just nodded my head and paid the price. It's not been cleaned up at all so it's a little dirty but then air tools can get dirty. I love all things Australian so it's going on my shelf. I want to see who the first person, who is not from Australia, can correctly identify this beauty.

[fishgrain]

my guess - ALVEY

-jay

[The Great Maudu]

Sorry Jay but not an Alvey. Here's another pic.

[foakes]

Grice & Young Orlando Supreme

Best,

Fred

[The Great Maudu]

That's it Fred. Have you ever seen one before?

[foakes]

Might of had one at some point -- but got rid of it.

Still have an Alvey or two -- which are much more modern than yours.

In order to operate yours -- one pops off the spool -- inserts it onto the center-pin at the front -- then casts it.

Then you pop it off again and reinsert back onto the side pin deal to retrieve line.

Think these were originally made in England -- for the Australian and NZ markets primarily -- but they work well anywhere.

Maybe they were also manufactured in Australia too?

Nice old piece -- love to see your restoration.

Best,

Fred

[The Great Maudu]

Despite its appearance it's a heavy duty well made reel. The aussies call them pommie reels.

[SoCalAngler]

Pommie (sp) is a term for Brits in Aussie lingo.

[David Hall]

Way cool

[mo65]

   Holy Cannoli...I couldn't have IDed that reel on a bet!   Way ta go Fred...and cool reel Maudu!

[Benni3]

That's a cool reel

[Midway Tommy]

It was made in England in the mid '50s. G & Y was Joseph Brindley Gurney Grice and Charles Edwin Young. They started out as motor equipment engineers. They made trailers & airplane parts/running gears, etc. during WWII. They started in Dunstable and later moved to Christchurch, England, the Agila Works factory. That would be where your reel was most likely manufactured, after the war.

[The Great Maudu]

Thanks for the info on the reel. I'm thinking I might just spool it up and give it a go this spring.

[fishgrain]

The fact your going to use the reel just as awesome as the history provided by Midway. Very interesting


Thanks, Jay

[CapeFish]

Similar reels were widely used in South Africa and still are for coarse fishing, but they are becoming scarcer. We had several locally manufactured versions, some even had a drag and were made for saltwater fishing, but those were never popular