Australis

Australis Motors was an early Australian motor manufacturer based in Leichhardt, New South Wales, tracing its origins to the engineering and cycle-making business of G. W. & G. Wood. The firm initially built bicycles under the Leichhardt name before turning its attention to the emerging field of motorized power, a shift reflected in the renaming of its workshop to the Austral Gas Engine Works.

Early experimentation in motorizing cycles was carried out in collaboration with pioneering motorist Charles Highland. These efforts culminated in 1897 with the successful construction of a motor bicycle fitted with a De Dion-Bouton engine. Following this achievement, Highland and the Wood brothers went on to build several motor tricycles and motor quadricycles, refining their understanding of motorized transport.

In 1901, the company introduced its first small car, powered by a single-cylinder, water-cooled three-horsepower engine built to De Dion-Bouton design principles. Apart from the wheel rims and tyres, the vehicle was entirely manufactured in-house by the Wood firm, which by then also produced engines for both cycles and motor vehicles, along with cooling fans and its own carburettor design. It was around this period that the company adopted the Australis Motors name, a mark that appeared cast into the crankcases of surviving engines.

The company's later output included a four-seater tonneau-style vehicle, recorded in 1905, representing a progression toward larger and more practical passenger vehicles. Australis Motors stood among the early manufacturers contributing to the formative years of the Australian automotive industry.