Ian McFee’s vintage tractors a window into a century of machines

Phillip Island farmer Ian McFee remembers farming with horses, but now has a tractor collection reflecting a life of farm work.

Ian McFee, from Rhyll, has an incredible tractor collection. This is a Fordson Dexta, 1952.

It’s one of the ailments suffered by tractor collectors, says Phillip Island farmer Ian McFee as he peruses his own collection.

“The mind goes 100 miles an hour, but the hands can only go five miles an hour,” the 72-year-old says.

“So you can end up with a lot of tractors in need restoration work, with a few up and running.

“Most people who are into vintage tractors have the same issue, sheds full of tractors that don’t work.

“Once I finish restoring the 1943 Massey Harris (102 senior) I’ll start on the KL Bulldog (circa early 1950s) – that’s a project-and-a-half in itself.

“Then if I live long enough I’ll get on to the Fordson county full track crawler.”

The fourth-generation Phillip Island grandfather has 9ha with Coopworth sheep overlooking Western Port bay, growing up on a dairy and chicory farm not far away in Rhyll. He says he was three when he first determined he wanted to buy a Fordson and has been a fan of the brand ever since.

“They’re big and heavy to drive but they get the job done.”

Ian left school early and worked as a labourer, also growing chicory until the ’70s — supplied to the likes of coffee manufacturers Bushells and Nestle — so he earnt enough money to buy his first tractor at age 16.

Phillip Island farmer Ian McFee with his 1950 Grey Ferguson.

Ian then ran a tractor contracting business doing agricultural work and earth moving.

“I do it all: back-hoeing, hay baling, slashing, clearing gorse, cleaning dams, ploughing and making house foundations. There’s not a bit of soil on this island I don’t know.

“I cut a lot of wood too, which we needed to run the kiln to dry the chicory. We’d use about 3 tonnes of wood to dry a tonne of chicory and we’d farm about six acres (2.4ha) of chicory a year.”

He bought and sold tractors about every five years and now only retains one from his working days, bought 30 years ago: a second-hand Fordson super major (1963). But in total Ian has just under 20 tractors. The oldest is a 1937 Fordson, which still retains singe marks on the magneto cap from the Ash Wednesday bushfires, thanks to a previous owner.

His favourite is a 1968 Fordson Dexta and his most modern is an A82 Valtra.
“It’s a Finnish company and is about six years old. I wanted more power to drive a baler. It’s a good machine, sophisticated.

“I’m not keen on the electronics of modern tractors. You’ve got to have the specialised equipment to work on them and you can’t buy that equipment. The manufacturers say they’ve paid money and done the research to create the technology, which is right, but it makes it difficult.

“I don’t think modern tractors will be around in 50 years like the vintage ones are now for that reason. They’re forcing you to buy more.

“At the same time they don’t have the pollution of the older ones.

“Overseas there’s an emerging trend for fuel companies to not provide fuel for the older vehicles, which will make it difficult for vintage collectors in the future.”

Ian is a member of three tractor clubs, including both the Australian Ferguson and Fordson clubs, as well as the Korumburra Working Horse and Tractor Club.

“A few years back I had my 1950 Grey Ferguson trucked up on a semi to Birdsville and joined a group of vintage tractor enthusiasts driving from Birdsville to Alice Springs. It took about 10 days and most of it was on sand.”

Each year he competes through the West Gippsland Ploughing Association (vintage class).

“There’s a lot to know about it to do it properly – the straightness, burying the vegetable matter, consistency of depth, knowing your machine and adjusting for steepness, roughness and uneven or deep grass.

“You are battling the soil.”

While he admits he owns more tractors in need of restoration than he has time in the day, Ian is also a dab hand at making farm equipment.

“It’s rehashing and modifying second-hand items or making it from scratch and in a lot of cases — like so many farmers — I think I make it better than you can buy.

“I made a dozer blade 36 years ago and it still works just as well. Whereas I had a couple of manufactured ones and they never did the same job.

“They would always lose their bolts. I found an old Sunshine sun vertical stump jump disc plough lying in a paddock and so I picked it up and replaced the levers with hydraulic rams and it worked brand new.”

Ian continues to work full-time around the island, but has slowed a little because of a crook hip and leg.

“There are a hell of a lot of things I want to do but can’t at the moment.

“It’s a nuisance.”

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