The Australian Trapper - Trap - Traps - Trapping

The business and works of Henry Lane Limited were established in 1844 by the late Henry Lane, and were carried on by him until his death in 1877. Starting with the firm conviction that a sound business could only be built up by manufacturing goods of the highest quality, he met with such success that, in a few years, his products were know all over the world as the best obtainable.In 1877 the management of the concern passed into the hands of Henry Lane’s elder son Arthur Lane, who still further increased the business, and, while keeping up the reputation, improved the methods of production. Arthur Lane died in 1891. This Henry was the youngest son of the founder; he controlled the business, and has made many improvements and developments. Owning to the enormous increase of the rabbit pest in Australia and New Zealand, the demand for rabbit traps increased to un undreamt of extent, the result being that the supply of skilled labour available could not produce sufficient traps to meet the demand, consequently it became necessary to devise machinery to take the place of skilled labour, and the methods of production have been, in the main, entirely revolutionized. This of course, has been a work on time, but in the year 1919 a totally new plant was installed and the factory became the most up-to-date of its kind in the world.

In 1920 the firm was incorporated as a Private Limited Liability Company, and in the same year, a similar Company was formed to manufacture the Firm’s Patents in Australia, under the title of Henry Lane (Australia) Limited, the Manager being Arthur E. Lane the eldest son of Henry Lane (the 2^nd).

(This might be the son that was taken by a shark off Nobbys Beach, Newcastle NSW.)

The Directors of the Wednesfield Company are Henry Lane, Managing Director, and his second son Henry C. Lane, who is also Works Manager.

While I am on the subject of Lanes and Lane’s traps, has anybody got, or heard of, or seen this trap by Lanes.

This trap was Patented (20646) in 1926.

To the large plate of the older type there is a serious disadvantage that the animal, treading on the extreme edge of the plate, may spring the trap without being caught. A second disadvantage is that since the edge of the plate farthest from the catch is also farther from the hinge, it has to drop a greater distance to spring the trap than in the case of the normal plate, hence a smaller amount of earth running under the plate is sufficient to prevent the trap springing. Our aim therefore, has been to devise a means whereby the advantages of a large plate may be obtained without its disadvantages as mentioned above.