AT 100 years old, your working days are over, but that doesn’t mean the end of Manilla Historical Museum’s Mogul tractor’s life.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Museum president Ian Bignall said the 1914 Mogul was the forerunner of the International Harvester Company from the US.
“It was the first mass-produced tractor and helped to win the war (World War I), because when so many men were overseas serving, they could still get farm work done with the help of the tractors,” he said.
“This one came to us from an estate in Goulburn. The owner lent it to us then, when he died, bequeathed it to us. There are only about 10 that can still run in Australia.”
Mr Bignall said the motor runs, but museum members are still working on the drive and clutch to get it moving.
“There are not many of them around because many were scrapped,” he said.
“The owner restored it from two tractors.”
Mr Bignall said more people were saving old tractors these days as they didn’t want to see them go to scrap.
The centenarian will live out its days with its old (but younger) tractor mates in the machinery shed of the museum.
