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Buck Scoop

Operated by one man and a horse, buck scoops like this one were especially useful during the late 1800s in areas of the Adelaide Hills where most of the break-up work for roads was done by pick and shovel. The horse pulled the bucket along the ground while the scoop picked up loose soil and stones. This was then carted to a dump area. At this point the scoop would be tipped by use of the handle, and the contents would spill onto the ground behind the horse. The traces (side-straps, chains or ropes connecting the scoop to the horse) were approximately five metres in length to prevent injury to the horse.

The little scoop buckets were used extensively during the 1920s for drain work in areas that the newer, bigger graders could not reach.

Construction of the Trans-Australian railway line utilised buck scoops in building dams to contain the necessary water supply for steam trains. These dams were sometimes roofed over and this provided another source of water collection. Another dam was constructed using buck scoops at Quorn and used by trains along the Pichi Richi line.

An advertisement from the Sands & McDougall Directory of 1920.

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