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[[image:Furphy_cart.jpg|thumb|A Furphy water cart]]
[[image:Water_tank_end.jpg|thumb|Close-up of the tap end of the same tank.]]
'''Furphy''' is the name of a family and their company<ref>The company name is actually ''J Furphy & Sons Pty. Ltd.'' </ref>, based in [[Shepparton]] in [[Victoria]], [[Australia]].
== The Furphy water cart ==
The company, which began in 1864, is most famous for their [[water]] cart, designed in the 1880s primarily for farm use, but which was extensively used in Australian military camps, and on the battle fields of [[Europe]] and the [[Middle East]] in [[World War I]]. There the water cart drivers who brought the water carts were sources of information and gossip for the soldiers, and the term ''furphy'' came to mean a rumour or unreliable information.
John Furphy, who started the company, attended his local Methodist church and was a lay preacher there. His water carts are known for their cast-iron ends embossed with various wording, including a rhyme and a temperance message in shorthand. The rhyme reads:
:Good - Better - Best
:Never let it rest
:Till your Good is Better
:And your Better - Best.
The shorthand message varied a little over the years, but one version of it was, ''Water is the gift of God, but beer and whisky are concoctions of the devil, come and have a drink of water.''<!-- Can anyone read the shorthand on the accompanying picture? -->
The water carts are still made, although the cast-iron ends were replaced with galvanised mild steel in 1983.
== Sources ==
* [http://www.furphys.com.au/legend/water-cart.html The Famous Furphy's Water Cart]
* [http://www.furphys.com.au/index.html An Engineering Icon]
* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040251b.htm Furphy, John] (Australian Dictionary of Biography)
== External Links ==
* [http://www.furphys.com.au/index.html J Furphy & Sons Pty. Ltd.] Company site.
== Notes ==
<references />
[[Category:companies]]
[[image:Water_tank_end.jpg|thumb|Close-up of the tap end of the same tank.]]
'''Furphy''' is the name of a family and their company<ref>The company name is actually ''J Furphy & Sons Pty. Ltd.'' </ref>, based in [[Shepparton]] in [[Victoria]], [[Australia]].
== The Furphy water cart ==
The company, which began in 1864, is most famous for their [[water]] cart, designed in the 1880s primarily for farm use, but which was extensively used in Australian military camps, and on the battle fields of [[Europe]] and the [[Middle East]] in [[World War I]]. There the water cart drivers who brought the water carts were sources of information and gossip for the soldiers, and the term ''furphy'' came to mean a rumour or unreliable information.
John Furphy, who started the company, attended his local Methodist church and was a lay preacher there. His water carts are known for their cast-iron ends embossed with various wording, including a rhyme and a temperance message in shorthand. The rhyme reads:
:Good - Better - Best
:Never let it rest
:Till your Good is Better
:And your Better - Best.
The shorthand message varied a little over the years, but one version of it was, ''Water is the gift of God, but beer and whisky are concoctions of the devil, come and have a drink of water.''<!-- Can anyone read the shorthand on the accompanying picture? -->
The water carts are still made, although the cast-iron ends were replaced with galvanised mild steel in 1983.
== Sources ==
* [http://www.furphys.com.au/legend/water-cart.html The Famous Furphy's Water Cart]
* [http://www.furphys.com.au/index.html An Engineering Icon]
* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040251b.htm Furphy, John] (Australian Dictionary of Biography)
== External Links ==
* [http://www.furphys.com.au/index.html J Furphy & Sons Pty. Ltd.] Company site.
== Notes ==
<references />
[[Category:companies]]