George vividly remembers the moment when “the rot set in”. He still has the faded photo of him as a toddler sitting on a big red tractor, which triggered his lifelong obsession with these old workhorses.

“They put me on an International B250,” says George. “Probably to shut me up at the time, but I’ve been crazy about tractors ever since.”

George spent most of his childhood on a sheep and beef farm in Tolaga Bay, where the steep contour of the land called for horses rather than tractors. At every opportunity he’d be on the farm’s bulldozer trundling up and down the river flats.

A move to the Waikato in the 1980s found him managing a sheep and beef farm and turning his hand to shepherding. It was in 1989 that he acquired his first project – a 1943 Case SC General Purpose tractor.

A project

“It was sitting out the back of Ta Papa on some land and I needed a project,” says George.

For the last 17 years George has been a contract fertiliser spreader, which has proved very useful in uncovering abandoned, disused tractors to feed his addiction. On farms throughout New Zealand there are old tractors falling into disrepair, just waiting for someone like George.

To date, he has about 20 operational machines that he’s meticulously rebuilt from scrap and parts, and probably another 20 wrecked ones waiting their turn to be restored. When questioned as to whether his collection is the largest, George shrugs; apparently a few people have bigger collections.

Two large sheds on his property house the complete machines, with information and photos pinned to the walls, providing an informal museum environment. Another two sheds house thousands of parts in long dark, shelf-lined bays. George can identify most of them and although he can’t always find what he needs, he knows he has it somewhere. New goodies arrive constantly – sometimes unsolicited.

“I get given stuff all the time and I buy stuff all the time,” says George. “You never know what you might need one day and people often call me to see if I’ve got a part they need. I’ve become a bit of a dumping ground.”

George likes to tackle most aspects of restoration himself, whether it be bodywork or mechanical, and if he can’t do something, he always has a friend who can.

He’s especially pleased about the technique he’s learnt for removing rust. He puts the parts in a bath of water and molasses for a week or so, and they come out rust-free and ready to be painted.

For any machines that can’t be salvaged, George has started a ‘R.I.P’ board where he puts the serial numbers, so they will always be remembered as part of New Zealand’s history.

George does not share his passion alone. The Waikato has a thriving club of likeminded members who are equally fascinated by these machines of yesteryear. And it’s not just tractor-type machinery that they enjoy.

No tractors

“Before there was electricity on the farms, petrol or diesel driven motors were used to power things like water pumps, flour mills and milking sheds,” says George. “Some of our members rescue and restore these machines too.”

The Waikato Vintage Tractor and Machinery Club Inc. meet monthly at the Prince Albert Tavern in Cambridge, and there’s not a tractor in sight, just a few beers and stories of the latest acquisitions and successes.

“In the winter we do shed raids,” says George, “where we go to several properties in one day and barter, swap and generally drool over what other people have. Our club’s mobile kitchen comes with us and we make a day of it”.

Club members like to use their machines and carry out working bees on people’s properties, earthmoving or cutting hay. It must be a real sight to behold, a fleet of vintage tractors, bulldozers or balers, all working together in a paddock just like old times.

George’s father, who lives on a neighbouring farm, has a couple of his son’s tractors and they get used regularly to mow the roadside grass and for little jobs around the property.

Always tinkering

Road trips are another favourite club pastime. The club will visit other districts for their activities and sometimes a convoy of tractors and machines on trailers can be seen trundling through the back-roads, with regular cafe stops and setting up camps at night. Franklin, Taranaki, Rotorua, Manawatu and Levin are just some of the other clubs in New Zealand.

Waikato Vintage Tractor and Machinery Club celebrated their 30th anniversary last month with a weekend of tractor action behind Goodwood School in Fencourt, Cambridge, close to its roots – the club’s founding member lived nearby. The public enjoyed watching ploughing and tractor pulling competitions, and were treated to a “drive around the district” on a vintage farm vehicle. Other clubs brought their machines to the Waikato to join the display of Waikato vehicles.

As for George, he’s usually to be found in one of his sheds, tinkering with one of his projects or taking something apart for bits.

“There’s always something to do,” he says reflectively. ‘Even if it’s just 10 minutes, every little piece you do is a step closer to finishing.”

Though it would be safe to say that if something gets finished in this particular Waikato shed, another project is probably well underway and several more lined up.