Memories come flooding back ahead of Wairarapa Vintage Harvest Rally

Robin Parker on his grandfather's "old Fergy" tractor and grader. Photo / Supplied

When Robin Parker looks at an old photo taken of himself sitting on top of his grandfather's Ferguson TEA tractor, the memories come flooding back.

"We grew up on these things. Our parents used to tie us on the seat with string and we'd steer it around the paddock while they put out the hay. Obviously health and safety was a bit different back then and many people would be horrified to hear about that now, but … that's just how it was," he says.

This weekend, Parker will be able to share these memories and many more with like-minded enthusiasts attending the Wairarapa Vintage Machinery Club's Harvest Rally, a family-friendly event held every four years. Parker will bring his old tractor and a champion model 740A grader to the Harvest Rally being held at the Clareville Showgrounds over Waitangi Weekend 2018 (February 3rd and 4th).

Parker has always been fascinated with vintage equipment and is a member of the Wairarapa machinery club and on the committee for the Rally. He happily recalls how he came to acquire his grandfather's "old Fergy".

"'My grandfather was Hilton Parker who used to lease Budd's Dairy Farm at Tauamata Island in Carterton. He brought the Fergusson the same year I was born and paid 490 pounds for it. He used the tractor there and I remember it vividly as a child," he says.
"Well, a few years ago I got a tip-off from Peter Cameron, from the Vintage Machinery Club, who has records of historic sales. He rang up and said 'do you want to buy your grandad's tractor? "

Parker is only the Ferguson's fourth owner which he thinks is amazing given its age.
By comparison the champion model 740A grader, which has an interesting serial number Detroit 626 and is a six cylinder, manual gear box and pivot steer, is around 40 years old. Robin says it was first owned by an Auckland-based asphalt firm but he purchased it 20 years ago when it was sitting in a forest in Rotorua. He still uses it occasionally through his business Parker's Transport and Contracting.

The grader and Ferguson will line up at the Rally with other vintage trucks, tractors, stationary engines as well as farming memorabilia from private collections. There will also be magnificent draft horses in action harvesting a wheat crop with a binder and the Clayton Shuttleworth mill working.

Robin is only the Ferguson's fourth owner which he thinks is amazing given its age. Photo / Supplied

The star attraction of the show will be the rare Foden steam lorry, a six ton C-type lorry with a four and a half NHP compound engine. This truck was imported to New Zealand from England in 1925 and was a familiar sight in the Wairarapa for decades. After being show cased in the Gilltrap's Museum and extensively rebuilt and painted bright yellow, it was sold to a private collector in the South Island.

In addition to this rare lorry, there will be a showcase of local crafts and at the conclusion of each day, a spectacular grand finale display with vintage fire engines. Food and drinks are also available on site.

DETAILS:
Wairarapa Vintage Machinery Club's Harvest Rally
Clareville Showgrounds
Waitangi Weekend – Feb 3rd & 4th 2018
9am – 4pm
Adults $10 Children under 15 free
Free all-day parking
For more information visit www.wairarapanz.com/harvestrally