Henty field days: Vintage machinery display marks 40th anniversary

NEW Holland’s autonomous tractor will draw a crowd this year, but at the other end of the timescale, the vintage machinery display has always been popular and is marking its 40th anniversary this year.

The Henty and District Antique Farm Machinery Club.

NEW Holland’s autonomous tractor will draw a crowd this year, but at the other end of the timescale, the vintage machinery display has always been popular and is marking its 40th anniversary this year.

Founding members were Pleasant Hills farmers Max Hogg, Kerry Pietsch and Kevin Terlich — all vintage machinery enthusiasts who gathered a few tractors and implements for a working display in 1977.

The display was such a success the men formed the Henty and District Antique Farm Machinery Club.

After Kevin died, Max and Kerry continued to help stage the display each year, drawing on themes featuring headers, tractors, ploughs, mowers, stationary engines, reapers, water carts, tools and pumps dating from the late 19th century.

Club members volunteer their time to prepare and transport machinery, and man the site to entertain, inform and educate the public.

To mark the milestone, Max, Kerry and club president Trevor Terlich will cut an anniversary cake at The Stump on Thursday at 10.30am.

Trevor said the first display in 1977 comprised a working vintage tractors and implements at the present site of the field days dam.

Kerry demonstrated a Gibbins disc plough and Whitlock plough behind his crawler tractor, delighting the large crowd.

“They thought while the older machinery is still around and virtually going for nothing, why not put it to better use,” Trevor said.

“Kerry started with a twin cylinder crawler tractor found on the Walla swamp — he had to recondition the whole tractor to bring it to its former glory, creating his passion for vintage machinery.

“Max began his collection with a Massey Harris Cletrac crawler tractor and bought a Lanz Bulldog from the side of the road at Walbundrie.

“Our family’s Lanz Bulldog was purchased by my father, Kevin, from Walla — it was reconditioned and was part of the first display at Henty.”

Trevor bogged the Lanz Bulldog in the ploughing competition in 1977, bringing forth many ideas on how to extricate it.

“We put pieces of wood under the grippers but the tractor spat the pieces of timber out the back,” he said.

“It was certainly one of the humorous times we had at the Henty field days.”

Among the bigger displays was the 100 years of International Harvester, along with themes encompassing Caterpillar and Chamberlain.

This year’s theme celebrates Massey-Harris, Massey Ferguson, Ferguson and Sunshine.

Trevor said the crowd enjoyed displays of rare tractors and farm machinery.

The noise and smoke o-rings produced by the Bulldog tractors have proved popular with the crowds.

“Although this year is a Massey-Harris theme, we will have a Bulldog,” he said.

“Arnold Schulz will have a rare Massey-Harris reaper as a working display with an electric motor driving it, and sheaf hay put through it.

“Originally, string was not used to bind the sheaves but straw from the paddock.

“The display is always a fascinating time for people — even through the millennium drought, a lot of people came to the field days just to see the vintage machinery.”

Trevor said the display took considerable time to co-ordinate as machines had to be restored or prepared.

“Sourcing these machines and tractors is not quite as easy as in the past,” he said.

“The display is voluntary and the field days donates the site to the club each year.

“It is important to keep our farming cultural heritage in front of people.

“While we are able, we just love showing these machines.”

In his lifetime, Trevor has seen the machinery display at Henty move from working sickle mowers in 1964 to this year’s first driverless or autonomous tractor.

“The first tractor I drove was a W6 but these days I have a New Holland T6030,” he said.

“If I didn’t make the move at the time with a newer tractor I would have lost touch with the new outside world.”