World’s Largest Tractor Sculpture

World’s Largest Tractor Sculpture Australia is home to many unusual structures that have become popular tourist attractions. Recently, the West Australian (WA) town of Carnamah added to the list of sights by unveiling the world’s largest tractor sculpture. The town of 400, located 300 km north of Perth, features an 11.5-m tall, 16-m long, 42-ton steel replica of a Chamberlain 40K tractor. The monument is built five times larger than the original tractor, down to the nuts and bolts. As the first tractor made in WA in 1949, the sculpture pays tribute to the wheatbelt region’s agricultural history. The project took four years to raise funds and complete construction. It was a collaboration between Tracmach (Vintage Tractor and Machinery Association of WA), which came up with the idea 25 years ago, and the Carnamah Big Tractor Committee. Bob Lukins of Tracmach and John Piavanini, former Tracmach president, were driving forces behind the project. Engineer Frank Kidman designed the Big Tractor. “Frank had a 40K parked nearby and wore out the path from it to his office as he measured up every piece of the tractor and punched pages of meticulous plans and drawings of extremely high quality and accuracy into his computer,” says current Chairman of the Big Tractor Committee Brendon Haeusler. “Frank donated hundreds of hours and thousands of kilometers to the project. The man was like a kid in a candy store, displaying the passion and eye for detail you rarely come across.” Mining company DIAB Engineering was contracted to fabricate each piece of the structure in the city of Geraldton. Kidman worked closely with their project manager, Xavier Sequeira, who led a team of 58 tradespeople to overcome the numerous issues while creating this world-first. Completing the massive steel sculpture cost about $750,000, took over 17 mos. with more than 60 people, and required 800 liters of orange paint to cover the structure. “It was designed to look exactly like the Chamberlain 40K,” Sequeira says. “It’s a dead replica.” Eighteen trucks transported the individual tractor parts from Geraldton to Carnamah, and two cranes placed the pieces into position for bolting them together. Organizers raised approximately $600,000 through private and corporate donations, as well as awards from the Shire and local development commission, after several applications for government grants to fund the tractor build were unsuccessful. Thousands of dollars in contributions were received from across the country to keep project costs below $1 million. Haeusler says the Big Tractor is already increasing Carnamah’s visibility to both national and international tourists. “We’d like to add to the interpretation and improve and maintain the site over time,” Haeusler says. “Who knows, maybe one day we’ll add a giant plow behind the tractor.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Carnamah Big Tractor, Yarra St., Carnamah, Western Australia 6517 (haeusler.brendon@gmail.com). 

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