Tassie tractors shine at Scottsdale show

More than 80 scrubbed-up tractors lined the Scottsdale football oval early Sunday morning for the inaugural Tasmanian Tractor Show and Shine.

Organisers were more than thrilled with the number of entrants, quality, and presentation of the machinery that rolled up for the day. Also, the fact the rains that had pounded the Northeast the day before had subsided overnight.

The frost was still forming on the ground as the tractors began rolling into the showgrounds. Volunteers in Fluoro-vests guided the tractor drivers into their position. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and sausages sizzling on the grill drifted lazily across the grounds in the pre-dawn light at the Scottsdale showgrounds.

Right on 10-am, the main gates opened to the public. By 11-am, the crew on the gate had issued over 500 tickets. People had travelled from all over the state for the event. By lunchtime, the crowd had swelled to more than 1000, all eager to see the machinery.

Local West Scottsdale farmer Keran Thompson came up with the concept of a “tractor show and shine” to bring the community together.

“I was washing my tractor one afternoon, thinking about life and the changes we’ve seen in recent times, Keran said. “I’m certainly not the only guy that takes pride in the condition of his tractor. When the idea formed of assembling some liked-minded people, like a car or truck show, to bring the community together for a relaxing, fun day.”

“The day is about establishing a family-friendly event for all generations to see and experience something they wouldn’t normally see up close. So many people don’t get the opportunity to see machinery like these large tractors up close.”

Keran teamed up with the local Scottsdale Rotary club, who helped coordinate and organised the day,

“All the proceeds from the day go to the Rotary Club, which they use to fund community projects,” Keran said.

“The support from the local community and businesses has been unbelievable, from donations of prizes to offers of assistance on the day,” Keran explained.

“We set out with a small team to make run a fun family day,” Keran said, “We only asked for a gold coin donation because we wanted the event to be affordable for families. The rising cost of living is hurting everybody. The small gold coin donation is affordable and means the entire family can come along and enjoy the day.”

“Most of the machinery on display today was working in a field on Friday,” Keran added. “It’s a huge credit to all the owners and machine operators that they’ve arrived here at our show in such pristine condition.”

By late afternoon, dark Nimbostratus clouds were forming over the hills, and the tractor owners were busily bustling to load the machinery before the threatening rain arrived.

For Keran and Scottsdale Rotary Club, the event went off without a hitch and thankfully, favourable weather had shone down on the show.

Will there be another Tasmanian Tractor Show and Shine in 2023? “I think the huge rollout of entrants and visitors unanimously voted YES,” Keran smiled. “We’ve already got a few ideas for making next year’s show bigger and better.”

Sadly, there is not enough space to write details about every tractor at the show, other than to say the quality and presentation of the tractors on display were first class. If you intend on going to next year’s Tasmanian Tractor show and shine and hoping for accommodation or a campsite, a word of advice, book early as camping sites are limited.

Images: Howard Shanks