Our car and motorcycle club, the KBG took an excursion to the Tractor Museum at Whiteman Park on Sunday 11 June 2023. Despite a week of pouring rain, Sunday opened with clear, blue skies so we had a better turnout than expected - 15 members and their families.
My DKW, Vauxhall, Ford and Volvo
Given the weather, we had a very good turnout.
The team arrives
Two Swedes - Saab 96 and Volvo 155
This JZR kit-car three wheeler is based on Motoguzzi running gear.
A pair of BMWs
Tractor Museum entrance
Fordson tractor guards the door
In the entrance is a tractor for the kids to jump on. Grumpy Trev gets behind the wheel
Steam traction engine
This example is on loan from the Museum of Western Australia
Loy in matching attire. The museum had a feature display celebrating the centenary of the Farmall tractor.
You little ripper! A cute little Ransome mini-tractor. Adequate for the hobby farmer in the 1950s.
McCormick-Deering
Sunshine Harvester. These American harvester machines were manufactured in a factory unit in Fremantle. The building is now a food hall. https://www.thesunshineharvesterworks.com.au/
The farmer's friend - stationary engines in all shapes and sizes for every industrial use.
Walk behind mini-tractors and rotary tillers. These small and cheap machines were a life-saver for the small farmer in the 1930s to 50s. Here's a flyer from the Bungartz company of Germany:
https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2023/03/1934-bungartz-butz.html
Landmaster Rotary Hoe. I must admit, walking behind this when the tiller blades were rotating must have been somewhat perilous!
It's interesting that this BMB Hoemat was given a false bonnet to make it look like a mini-tractor.
The unkillable Lanz Bulldog from Germany was surprisingly popular in Australia. This is a later example from the 1950s. It's distinctive from earlier models by the lack of a starter bulb at the front of the motor.
This 1929 Lanz Bulldog is a running example in the museum's collection. It certainly draws a crowd of onlookers when being started. Unfortunately it was not being run in that Sunday's tractor parade.
Two 1930s Bulldog's. Both of these are started via the hot-bulb method and otherwise have no electric system. This is one of the reasons these machines were so popular - they were virtually foolproof and would pretty much run forever with basic maintenance. They could be run on almost any combustible liquid, from heavy crude oil to cooking oil. To start them, one would place a blowtorch under the bulb at the front of the vehicle. This would heat up a conductive rod to the combustion chamber. Once the rod was red hot, the fuel tap was opened and the flywheel spun and - all things being equal - the engine would fire up.
The Lanz's enormous - and heavy - piston can be seen in front of the grey tractor. The piston sits horizontally in the engine block. Note the defector top.
For more about the Lanz Bulldog: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-unkillable-lanz-bulldog.html
1948 Allis Chalmers
1949 Allis Chalmers WD with narrow track front wheels
McDonald Imperial Super Diesel tractor
Admirning the machinery
1947 Chevrolet Maple Leaf truck
This tractor has had an adventurous life. "Tail End Charlie", a Chamberlain road tractor was the official recovery vehicle used the Redex Round Australia trials. In order to keep up with the competitors it was given a four speed gearbox which allowed it to drive at 80 kph. Over it's life it has done the equivalent mileage of three times around Australia and it still driveable on the road today.
Leyland 154
An America Case tractor. Case built steam traction engines in the US from British designs and later moved into tractors.
Ford truck
Old bill steam shovel in the grounds in front of the museum
Getting ready for the parade. The parade is held on the second Sunday of every month.
And they're away!
And as a bonus surprise, a very bold Quoll was scurrying about at the Whiteman Park cafe, scavenging among the tables. Normally these little marsupials are extremely shy of humans. Thanks to the predations of feral cats, they are quite endangered so it's good to see one about.
