General News
7 April, 2023
Tractors crank up for Easter Rally
Melbourne-manufactured McDonald tractors will hold the limelight on Saturday, during the Warracknabeal Wheatlands Easter Rally. The tractors will feature in the street parade at 11am, and a vintage tractor pull at 5pm will pit these machines against...
Melbourne-manufactured McDonald tractors will hold the limelight on Saturday, during the Warracknabeal Wheatlands Easter Rally.
The tractors will feature in the street parade at 11am, and a vintage tractor pull at 5pm will pit these machines against each other.
This year marks the 54th Annual Vintage Machinery Rally for Warracknabeal's Vintage Machinery Museum, and the rally remains popular with people interested in the development of engines and machinery over the years.
The earliest A.H. McDonald tractor which will feature in the rally was manufactured at the Richmond site in 1913 and is being restored by Alan Landt.
One of the McDonald tractors on display at the Henty Highway museum, south-east of Warracknabeal, belonged to the Quick family of Brim East.
Howard tractors, used in orchards and on smaller properties, will also be on show. The Howard company which was founded a century ago, also produced stationary engines, diggers and spreaders, rotary hoes, ride-on mowers and other small equipment at Mossman, New South Wales.
A Howard tractor, restored by Gary Liersch, stands on show in the museum's foyer.
Rally organisers expect about 100 tractors to be on display at Warracknabeal Wheatlands Museum over the Easter weekend.
* The most famous A.H. McDonald engine is the huge Big Lizzie which is on permanent show at Red Cliffs near Mildura.
Built originally to replace camel trains hauling wool and heavy loads in sandy terrain, by late 1920 Big Lizzie was clearing scrub for 700 Soldier Settlement irrigation blocks at Red Cliffs.
A gang of 16 was needed to operate the large machine, and the journey from Richmond to Mildura took over a year and was punctuated with constant difficulties.