One of Bill Robinson’s biggest regrets in life is not asking his father more about the history of vintage tractors before his death a decade ago.
The retired Thorpdale farmer inherited his infectious passion for mainly German-built Lanz Bulldogs from his late father, Len Robinson, who died in December 2016.
Now, after decades of collecting and restoring vintage tractors, the 74-year-old has made the decision to sell his prized collection after progressively retiring from farming in recent years.
“My father always collected tractors and worked on them, and once I retired, I was able to do the same thing,” Mr Robinson said.
“Dad’s first tractor was a Bulldog and that’s where he developed a passion for them and I carried that on.
“I just wish I had asked him more about them when he was alive.”
The Bulldogs were popular during the Second World War because of their versatility and ability to run literally on the smell of an oily rag.
“During the war, there wasn’t much fuel around so to have something that would run on crude oil as well as sump oil or diesel was a big advantage,” Mr Robinson said.
Mr Robinson and his wife, Jude, grew spuds for 40 years and ran cattle and sheep on 160 hectares at Thorpdale, but made the decision to sell a majority of the property in 2012 with retirement in their sights.
It allowed Mr Robinson, who moved to Thorpdale from Underbool, Vic, in the north-west of the state when he was two months old, more time to focus on restoring and preserving vintage tractors.
“They’re mainly Lanz Bulldogs and most people would know they are a German-built tractor,” he said.
“They are a single-cylinder machine that starts with a blow lamp.”
“You use the blow lamp to heat up the hot bulb and then you put the steering wheel into the crankshaft and swing it over by hand to make it start.”
Fuel is injected to the hot bulb once it is heated, allowing the engine to ignite.
The collection includes 12 Lanz Bulldogs, ranging from 17-50-horsepower, a grey Ferguson and a grey and gold Ferguson both from the early-1950s, a Chamberlain 40KA, plus two late-1940s Massey Harrisons.
All bar two of the tractors have been restored to original condition.
“I think the quickest restoration I did from scratch to finish took about six months, but a lot of them I spent about 12 months on,” Mr Robinson said.
“That wasn’t full-time though, that was in between fishing trips and other things like that.”
Eighteen tractors, a restored 1418 Mercedes Benz tray truck, and a 1947 Oldsmobile will be included in the 14 June on-property auction by Martin Evans Auctions.
His most-prized tractor is a 1935 Lanz Bulldog crawler, rescued by his late father, who found it sitting in a paddock at Woodside in South Gippsland as a wreck.
“One of the Bulldogs came from Pinnaroo, SA, a few came from Queensland, one came from just down the road and another came from just the other side of town,” Mr Robinson said.
“I think they will go to established collectors.
“The grey Fergies could be put back to work on hobby farms because they are quick to start and have PTO linkage, unlike the Bulldogs.”
The Robinsons have since listed their remaining four hectares, including vast shedding once used for spuds, on the market and plan to move to Trafalgar.
“Jude suggested I keep a couple, but I’ve made the decision that they all have to go, because it would be too hard to find a shed suitable for them in town,” Mr Robinson said.
“It might be a bit of a shock to the system moving into town, but the time comes around for most of us.”
[Editor: on-site inspections are on Saturday, 6 June and Saturday, 13 June between 12-2pm both days, with the on-line auction on 14 June. Details can be obtained from the agent, ME Auctions]
Source: Stock & Land
