The world's biggest tractor has been unveiled in Carnamah

The world’s biggest tractor has been officially unveiled in Carnamah, 300km north of Perth.

The monument is a replica of a Chamberlain 40K, but is five times the size, standing 11.5m tall and weighing 42 tonnes.

DIAB Engineering was trusted to construct the vehicle, with the project taking six years of planning. Building the replica cost $654,000, with most of the money raised through community funding.

The tractor was constructed in Geraldton over the past year, before it was disassembled and sent to Carnamah for the unveiling.

Big Tractor Project chair Brendon Haeusler says it will be a popular attraction: “This tractor will bring visitors to our region from all over the world as the Chamberlain tractors are very popular and were the backbone of early agriculture in Australia.”

The tractor was officially revealed on Saturday, October 5, on Midlands Road, prior to the start of the Country Carnival.

CHAMBERLAIN HISTORY

Tractor mechanic Bob Chamberlain designed what would be the 40K and built a prototype in Victoria.

It was just what farmers wanted and needed to clear the land of its native bush and establish farms.

The West Australian Government persuaded and encouraged Mr Chamberlain to build his tractors in Welshpool, in a repurposed munitions factory, with the first being produced in 1949.

The Chamberlain 40K weighed four tonnes and became very popular as WA’s broad-acre agricultural region was being developed. (Even though the later Champion and 80 Series models were probably their most successful and best known designs.)

And why a “40K”? The cylinder tractor produced just over 40 horsepower (actually 45hp, or 30.5 kW of power). Most interestingly, it did that with a twin-cylinder, horizontally opposed, four stroke kerosene engine, which was designed and manufactured by the company’s brilliant engineers.

The US John Deere Company bought a controlling interest in Chamberlain in 1970, it became a fully owned subsidiary of John Deere in the 1980s, and stopped making the tractors in 1986, due to the decline in demand.

GET THERE

+ To get to Carnamah from Perth, first drive to Bindoon up Great Northern Highway. After Bindoon, take the Bindoon-Moora Road (turn left, or east) through Mogumber and Coorow to Carnamah. We suggest allowing two and a half hours from Bindoon.

+ The original prototype tractor, the 40K, is on display at the Tractor Museum of WA, in Whiteman Park. It is in a collection of nearly 40 tractors. The oldest operational tractor on display is a 1920 Fordson. whitemanpark.com.au

+ There are also Chamberlain tractors at the excellent Cunderdin Museum, which is open daily. cunderdin.wa.gov.au