Much loved tractor under the hammer

Murdoch Ross had a sure-fire cure to lift his spirits if his cerebral palsy made him feel blue.

He would ride his trusty steed, a Massey Ferguson 28 tractor, to the top of the airfield on his family farm at Parua Bay, pull the throttle wide open and zoom over the grass runway, arms raised for takeoff.

"I liked to feel the wind blow through my hair," he said.

But what Murdoch calls his "boy racer" behaviour will end today when the faithful Fergie is to be sold by auction at the farm in the Rukuwai Valley on Taraunui Rd.

It will be the end of an era at Parua Bay, where the 61-year-old farmer and Ross Livestock company director has been driving his tractor on the roads since 1964.

Some local motorists could be relieved. They know Murdoch has more clues than most people, but the cerebral palsy affects his physical capabilities so meeting him gunning his Fergie along narrow rural roads could be an alarming experience.

Murdoch fell off the tractor, injuring his legs, and he has nearly run over a good friend, so he no longer saddles up the 28-horsepower Fergie and now gets around more safely on a mobility scooter with far less grunt.

There has been wide interest from prospective buyers interested in acquiring the tractor.

It has been well maintained, and Murdoch said it "goes as good as the day it was born" in 1954.

Ever the stockyard salesman, he humorously talked up the worth of the tractor as a "collectors item", jokingly claiming "Australian interests" were after it.

Megan McRae, of Parua Bay, told the Advocate her sister Anna, who now lives across the Tasman, wanted to buy it. She had developed an affection for the little Fergie when the two girls were youngsters and Murdoch's sister Jennifer used to look after them.

The tractor was to go under the hammer about 11am along with the 1989 Nissan Civilian minibus, which longtime friend Ross Wyatt used to take Murdoch to Ross Livestock sales at Maungakaramea for many years.

The minibus served as a sales office before a building was erected for that purpose.

Mr Wyatt said the bus was no longer needed as "I've now got a big boat I want to play around with" and he was on the lookout for a van with a hydraulic lift which could carry Murdoch and his scooter to sales.

Also on sale were three John Deere tractors, machinery, cattle, sheep, pigs and hay.