Six old, grey tractors in the middle of Armidale yesterday afternoon? Not a mirage; the vehicles were on their way to the Grey Fergie Tractor Muster and Land Rover Gathering in Bendemeer this weekend.
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Held every three years since 2003, the Muster celebrates the tractor’s important role in Australian agriculture after WWII, and attracts drivers from around the region.
These six had come from Coffs Harbour, and were overnighting at the Armidale Showground on their way south.
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“We just love our little Grey Fergies,” said Woolgoolga farmer Jeff Eggins, “so we drive them out for the muster.”
Mr Eggins loves them so much he has 15 at home. “I just bought them cheap, so I keep collecting them!”
This was the third time Mr Eggins had driven one of his tractors to the muster. He and the other five tractors had started their 650 to 750 km round trip from Coffs Harbour on Wednesday morning, and would get in to Bendemeer on Friday afternoon.
The New England Antique Machinery Club looked after the drivers while they were in Armidale, before they set out for Uralla this morning.
It’s all in a good cause, too; the tractors raise money for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.
The “Grey Fergie” – as the TE 20 Ferguson is fondly nicknamed – averages only 20 to 22 km an hour, but they’re easy to drive, Mr Eggins said, with just a four-speed gearbox and reverse.
"They're cheap to buy, they're cheap to refurbish, relatively cheap to run, and nice and light to carry on a car trailer from A to B. We do four or five tractor treks a year, and you can carry them on a car trailer and get about. They're small, compact, just a simple grey colour."
They were manufactured in the UK between 1946 and 1959, and painted grey because it was the cheapest colour after the War. 500,000 were made in England, of which 120,000 came to Australia. The little tractors’ three-point linkage system made them more mobile in small area farming.
The tractors may be small, but they’re spirited. In Wentworth, on the junction of the Darling and Murray rivers, for instance, a fleet built levee banks that saved the town from floods in 1956.
The festivities kicks off at 1pm on Saturday, with the Grand Parade, followed by the opening ceremony at 2pm. Sunday morning will feature a breakfast with bush poetry and musical entertainment by "Two Gals".
There will be treks on both Saturday and Sunday, and one on Friday afternoon to meet the Fergies from Coffs Harbour
The two-day event also celebrates another great vehicle: the British-made Land Rover, which could be used as a workhorse one day, and as transport to town the next.
All Land Rovers are welcome, including modified and project-specific ones, and the organisers hope to have a diverse display of them. The Landies can participate in the Grand Parade and the Tractor Treks. If there is sufficient demand, there will also be a Land Rover run over local infrequently used roads.
There will also be activities for the kids such as a jumping castle, merry-go-round, and sand wizard, stalls and swap sites, and demonstrations of sheep shearing, old machinery and other agricultural equipment.
The event is sponsored/supported by Tamworth Regional Council, Bendemeer Hotel, Bendemeer Tourist Park, Tony Williams Machinery (Armidale), Colonial Chemicals (Bendemeer), and Bare-Co.
For more information, visit www.GreyFergieTractorMuster.com.au.
