Tractor Trek - Mildura Weekly
5 Jun 09
Terrific tractor trek just the ticket!
RELIABLE: Robert Mansell and his trusty Fordson Dexta.
Posted by Administrator on 05/06/2009 at 02:12 PM in Community / Mildura
WHY would anyone want to drive a tractor, and an old one at that, through some of Victoria's most remote country?
"Because we could!" and "Because we wanted too!" Yep, that was motivation enough for Colignan's Robert Mansell, an enthusiastic member of the Tractor Restoration and Appreciation Club of Sunraysia, and his "just as enthusiastic" fellow TRACS ‘trekkers' Levi Buffon and Ray Carter.
The trio, along with their trusty tractors, made the journey with seven others in what has given them a taste for adventure they want to repeat over and over again.
"It was a great trip," Robert said. "We had such a good time and I would like to do more of these type of trips in the future."
To get to the bottom of this story we have to backtrack a little, when Robert was among a group of TRACS members visiting Woods' Farming and Heritage Museum* at Rupanyap.
Located on the Wimmera Highway, the museum is, according to those who have experienced it, "an amazing collection of stationary engines, tractors, tools and farm and household memorabilia".
While there, the subject of a tractor trek came up. It was being organised by fellow tractor enthusiasts who go under the unlikely name of the Dunmunkle Sump Oilers, a club based in Victoria's western districts.
The trek was planned to start in Nhill and to coincide with the National Historical Machinery Association of Australia's biennial national rally in March.
The trek would terminate at the rally host town of Murray Bridge.
His interest well and truly piqued, Robert asked if the trek was to be a club members only event for the Sump Oilers, or open to other interested parties like himself and other TRACS members.
Robert's keeness to take part must have been palpable, and he was assured the trek was open to anyone who wanted to give it a go.
That was enough to send him home at speed to make sure he had a tractor ready for the event.
Having quite a collection to choose from, the trek duty fell to one of his favourites - a 1960s Fordson Dexter diesel.
There was, Robert recalls, a bit of work to do to get it ready for the trek that, in the end, was to total more than 350 kilometres.
The Fordson had been all but retired from work on Robert's Mansell Farms property at Colignan, coming out only occasionally in recent years when he was short of tractors for the annual citrus harvest.
The ageing tractor was not as well appointed as some of its more modern counterparts, but courtesy of its working life, it came complete with a citrus ladder rack and rear forks, both of which Robert put to good use.
He secured a aluminium citrus ladder to the rack, using it as a frame for a canvas roof he added for protection from an "unlikely rain" and the sun.
He used a citrus bin on the rear forks to carry his kit - tools, fuel, water, chains, wire, rope and anything else he thought might come in handy.
"It's all about being prepared," Robert said.
A new battery and some minor mechanical repairs and the Fordson was well on its way to being ready. He also had to add lights - the tractor needed to be registered because the trek would take in public roads.
All that done, a final check over and he was ready to roll.
While Robert was getting his tractor ready, Levi and Ray were doing the same. And, in keeping with the vintage theme of the trek and the rally, on the morning of departure Ray's Fordson Major, Levi's Ford 3000 and the Fordson Dexta were loaded on Robert's bright red restored R190 International for the journey to the trek starting point.
"We also took a car because it's ‘a bit friendly' in the R190 with two people, let alone four," he said referring to Levi and Ray as well his father, Ian, who would drive the R190 to the rally while the trio of tractor drivers piloted their respective mounts.
"We arrived at Nhill at about 4.30pm and after a photo shoot unloaded the tractors and put the car on the back of the semi.
"We then put up side curtains and cap tarp over the six foot gates to make a very cosy home away from home.
"Then Nhill Historical & Machinery Group members showed us through their shed full of machinery and tractors followed by a meal.
"It was early to bed that night because we were to start early - before sun up. The Nhill Group cooked us a great breakfast at 6.30am and then it was a rush to get packed up before the 7.15 start."
The convoy of 10 tractors and six support vehicles, including the R190, made its way along the 35 kilometres of bitumen from Nhill to Yanac with just one unscheduled stop, when Levi had to retrieve his hat, blown off by the wind.
The convoy was headed by the grey Fergie of Ian Baker and averaged a respectable 19km/h. But after Yanac, the pace gradually slowed, until the Fergie pulled over with fuel
problems.
"Everybody stopped," Robert recalled and that it proved to be "a good time for tree watering".
Of course, he said, everyone was full of advice on how to fix the problem.
At this time the heavier support vehicles detoured around the Big Desert to meet the convoy on the other side at Murrayville, but the tractors and the lighter vehicles pushed on.
A fix was made and the convoy's next stop was just inside the Big Desert State Forest at Broken Bucket for smoko.
"The countryside, " Robert recalled had changed dramatically from the rich farming country between Nhill and Yanac to white sand dunes with small Banksia shrubs, low Mallee and stunted Mallee Pines in side the park.
"It looked like very poor country and not unlike like coastal sand dunes."
The convoy stopped again at The Springs, in the middle of the Big Desert, for lunch that turned out to be an hour and half stop while the crews ate and then set to work on the troublesome Fergie that was still giving problems and had been unceremoniously and maybe a little unkindly dubbed ‘The Grey Maggot'.
After lunch, the tractor savvy trekkers worked to strip the Fergy's carby down to its ‘bare bones' and clean it out thoroughly before rebuilding it.
That done, it was reinstalled and The Grey Maggot ran beautifully ever after.
"The desert track we were on, known as the Murrayville Track," Robert recalled, "Was reasonable and would be no real problem for a 4WD... even towing a caravan, but I would not like to try it after rain!"
"The roadway had been covered with clay on the hills. That was fine idea except for the blow holes through the clay that revealed the underlying sand... soft like bulldust. It was easier to go around these then try to go through."
The convoy made Murrayville just after 4pm having travelled 155 kilometres.
"Soon after meeting the rest of the support crew and setting up camp in the Murrayville Caravan Park and we all had a good hot shower... it had been a dusty day!"
The next day the intrepid travellers "left a bit later at about 8:15am..." declaring it "a lot better than getting ready in the dark".
"We headed due north for about 10km before turning due west on Mulcra Road. The road was almost straight for about 80km. A lot of properties along the roadside had large signs proclaiming their ownership by large companies, and had giant centre pivot irrigation to grow potatoes on bore water," Robert recalled.
"It was quite hot, and some of us stopped for a quick cool drink after we turned onto the bitumen of the Lamaroo to Karoondah road.
The group arrived at Karoondah at about 4pm, after travelling 135km.
By happy coincidence, the town was setting up for its annual Farm Fair and the intrepid trek crew camped amongst the big marquees of the fairgrounds.
The next day a decision was made to travel along the bitumen and through the notorious ‘whoopdedoos' straight through to Murray Bridge.
"We stopped in a parking bay for morning tea and had lunch on top of the hill overlooking Murray Bridge before travelling in convoy into town and down to the rally site arriving about 2:30pm.
So they had made it, and without so much as incident, if you can forgive the old TEA20 carby.
I must admit that when Robert was telling the story I was looking forward to a heroic tale of man versus nature... and the mechanical vagrancies of old machinery.
But these blokes are too good at what they do. The tractors ran like proverbial Swiss clocks, they were well prepared for any and all eventualities while the weather, although warm, had been kind.
Still, you can't have anything but respect for their efforts.
"Over the three days of the trek we travelled about 350km and my Dexta had used about 35 litres of fuel, or 10 litres per 100km - about the same as an average family car," Robert said.
"What struck me on the trip was the dramatic changes in countryside, from very good country right through to the poorest country, and how green the Yanac and Murrayville townships were with lush lawns irrigated by bore water."
Robert explained that for the uninitiated, the NHMAA national rally could be likened to like Wentworth's popular Junction Rally - but on steroids.
"It is huge," he said. "For example," Robert said, "There were more than 200 tractors as well as stationary engines, traction engines, bulldozers and, because it was being held on the Murray River, there were riverboats too this time.
"Another indication of just how big the event was the two and a half kilometres of walking paths amongst the stationary engines alone, and that the organisers had catered for a crowd of about 35,000."
So when's the next trek.
"As soon as we can get one organised," Robert enthused. And, he has already got some ideas to run something in Sunraysia.
"There's a lot of good country to do this sort of thing in around here," he said.
If it sounds like your cup of tea, you can join the TRACS members for their monthly meeting on the second Wednesday of each month from 7.30pm in the Irymple Guide Hall.
They welcome anyone with an interest in tractors.
"You don't even have to own one," Robert said.
The club will host its annual tractor pull in October again this year, but some changes have been planned.
"We're looking at changing the rules a little," Robert explained, "And try to get some more modern tractors competing."
New rules have not been finalised, but Robert said consideration is being given to including models as young as the late 1970s, early 1980s.
"It will open the competition up to a new era of competitors," he said.
The club is also considering building a lighter pulling sled for smaller capacity tractors, like the grey TE20 Fergie to add another dimension to this year's event.
More on that later