Town welcomes family of legendary inventor (From Gazette Series)

Town welcomes family of legendary inventor

THE people of Dursley have been thanked for the warm welcome they gave descendants of inventor Mikael Pedersen last weekend.

Dursley Heritage Centre hosted an exhibition of photographs and Pedersen bicycles on Saturday to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Danish inventor who set up shot in the town in 1890.

A total of 15 relatives came across from Denmark to view the exhibition and lay wreaths at Pedersen's grave in Dursley cemetery.

Cath Pierce, chairman of the Dursley Heritage Centre committee, said the day was a great success.

She told the Gazette: "The weather was very kind to us. There was a lot of interest from cyclists around the country - lots of examples of Pedersen cycles turned up.

"The centre was able to stay open longer than usual attracting a lot of interest from local people and visitors to the town."

Mrs Pierce said relatives of the inventor who had travelled to mark Pedersen's anniversary had all commented on what a welcoming reception they had received from Dursley people.

She said: "It is a credit to the town."

When Pedersen came to Dursley in 1890 he brought with him plans for a new style of bicycle later to become known as the Dursley Pedersen.

Pedersen's engineering inventiveness stretched far beyond bicycles and included designs for gears, musical instruments, engineering machinery, toys and early motorcycles.

Pedersen established close connections with Dursley-based engineering company RA Lister Petter. The company later manufactured one of Pedersen's designs for a cream separator, the Alexandra, giving it world-wide success.

Dursley Heritage Centre will be keeping the Mikael Pedersen exhibition open for two more weeks for visitors to see.