alt Hacker NewsA great example of how things were viewed at the time is the poem by AB "Banjo" Patterson: "Mulga Bill's Bycycle", first published in 1896.
'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze; He turned away the good old horse that served him many days; He dressed himself in cycling clothes, resplendent to be seen; He hurried off to town and bought a shining new machine; And as he wheeled it through the door, with air of lordly pride, The grinning shop assistant said, "Excuse me, can you ride?"
"See here, young man," said Mulga Bill, "from Walgett to the sea, From Conroy's Gap to Castlereagh, there's none can ride like me. I'm good all round at everything as everybody knows, Although I'm not the one to talk - I hate a man that blows. But riding is my special gift, my chiefest, sole delight; Just ask a wild duck can it swim, a wildcat can it fight. There's nothing clothed in hair or hide, or built of flesh or steel, There's nothing walks or jumps, or runs, on axle, hoof, or wheel, But what I'll sit, while hide will hold and girths and straps are tight: I'll ride this here two-wheeled concern right straight away at sight."
'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that sought his own abode, That perched above Dead Man's Creek, beside the mountain road. He turned the cycle down the hill and mounted for the fray, But 'ere he'd gone a dozen yards it bolted clean away. It left the track, and through the trees, just like a silver steak, It whistled down the awful slope towards the Dead Man's Creek.
It shaved a stump by half an inch, it dodged a big white-box: The very wallaroos in fright went scrambling up the rocks, The wombats hiding in their caves dug deeper underground, As Mulga Bill, as white as chalk, sat tight to every bound. It struck a stone and gave a spring that cleared a fallen tree, It raced beside a precipice as close as close could be; And then as Mulga Bill let out one last despairing shriek It made a leap of twenty feet into the Dead Man's Creek.
'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that slowly swam ashore: He said, "I've had some narrer shaves and lively rides before; I've rode a wild bull round a yard to win a five-pound bet, But this was the most awful ride that I've encountered yet. I'll give that two-wheeled outlaw best; it's shaken all my nerve To feel it whistle through the air and plunge and buck and swerve. It's safe at rest in Dead Man's Creek, we'll leave it lying still; A horse's back is good enough henceforth for Mulga Bill."
The Sydney Mail, 25 July 1896.
Replies
This is basically a Black Mirror type story….but from 1896.
And it’s about bicycles.
Fascinating.
Wow. Thanks for sharing. Here is the poem in a clearer formatting with images: https://allpoetry.com/Mulga-Bill's-Bicycle
Aside:
This is during the 'bicycle craze' of the 1890s. The safety bicycle was gaining in popularity at that time. A 'safety' bicycle is what you and I think of as a bicycle with two wheels that are the same size and a chain drive. Bicycles before that would refer to penny-farthings and chainless devices too - that's how ubiquitous the 'safety' bicycle became, we don't even know of the other versions as bicycles today.
Part of that bicycle craze in much of the world was the buildout of paved roads. Before this craze it was all cobblestones and dirt roads, with a little bit of paved ones. Due to many people wanting a smoother ride for their bicycle, many governments began paving roads. Granted it wasn't really well paved, that would take the invention of cars, but towns and cities would pave at all.
And lastly, this safety bicycle craze would lead to the invention of flight. Orville and Wilber Wright were kinda hipster bicycle mechanics that stuck around and became vintage bicycle mechanics (to borrow current terms). With their shop and light weight minded mechanical knowledge they applied themselves to the problem of flight. And wouldn't you know it, they solved it. I also want to shout out Charlie Taylor [0] here. He was the guy who made the engine for the Wright Flyer. He was one of these guys, coming out of the bicycle craze, that you'd find in the Gilded age that could, like, invent anything. Reading history in the period, these geniuses were seemingly everywhere. I don't know what was going on then, but there was something about that time where you get mechanical geniuses in every little town all over the globe.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Taylor_(mechanic)