Six members of the Mid Canterbury Vintage Machinery Club took a rural scenic route travelling from Wakanui Road, on the outskirts of Ashburton to set up at the recent Massey Ferguson tribute day at Lauriston.
Mid Canterbury Vintage Machinery Club members Don Kennedy, John Tillick, John Hall, Don Wakelin, Tim Waller and Darryl Nelson took the journey to get to Lauriston.
By avoiding downtown Ashburton, the men, with a supply of food and water, took a couple of hours to travel the 33km trip which would usually take 25 minutes by car.
The mini-Massey convoy was photographed along Cochranes Road, not far from their starting point.
At the tribute day, more than 100 Massey Ferguson tractors - and implements - were parked up in a field of farmer Anthony Hampton, an avid fan of the global brand.
Among them was Don Kennedy’s 1957 grey and gold coloured Ferguson FE 35, a one-off model he picked up for $400 more than 20 years ago.
"They were built in 1957 as a sort of one-off model, before they went to the red and grey," he said.
"It was the end of the Ferguson era before they went to Massey Ferguson."
The model still bears the Ferguson badge.
"Although this particular model - the FE 35 - was painted red and grey for two more years," he said.
Don, who lived and worked on the Ward farm at Newlands and then Rainer Irrigation before retiring into Ashburton, has had the tractor in his shed for the past 20 years but only worked on it recently.
He thinks he could be the third owner.
"I found it down in Patearoa (Otago).
"I used to go down there with my work and it was sitting in a yard on a farm down there. I looked at it and got hold of the farmer that owned and offered him $400."
It was in need of a bit of work.
Don took it home and just did up the motor.
It then sat for a long time; 18 years to be specific.
"Last year I had a bit of a push on it, got it going and got it painted," Don said.
It was the first tractor Don has owned that he was not allowed to have at home.
"My wife (Valmai) had enough of tractors stored in the garage or on the front lawn."
So it was stored elsewhere.
The work it needed was relatively straight forward in the end with dented front grills and panels which had been used as a battering ram. It had new tyres, new cushion, a paint job and the brakes had been relined.
And straightening up the hydraulic arms.
It has a Standard Motor Company-made 23C motor with 2.3CC capacity.
The rest of it is made by Ferguson Company, of Conventry, England.
It’s top speed is 15mp/h.
Don uses it for fun days and displays, and to keep his hand in tinkering.
"It’s just a hobby. It’s a life long interest tractors and implements.
Don said back in the day every man and his dog had a Ferguson tractor.
As a 10-year-old, that was where his love of Fergusons stemmed.
