World’s biggest tractor descends upon the West

Forget the Big Bud in the United States, Australia is officially home to the world’s biggest tractor. A tractor sculpture, that is.

Looming over the rural farming town of Carnamah, located 300km north of Perth in Western Australia’s mid-West region, the sculpture is a replica of a Chamberlain 40K, and is five times the size of the actual tractor, standing at a height of 11.5m and 16m long.

An official opening event was held over the weekend in Carnamah to celebrate the launch of the Big Tractor, with over 2000 people in attendance.

According to a report by ABC Australia, the sculpture was the result of over three decades of planning, led by a bespoke committee, aptly named the Big Tractor Committee.

However, the idea came from the WA Vintage Tractor and Machinery Association’s founder, Bob Lukins, who wanted to pay homage to WA’s history in tractor production and its diverse agricultural landscape.

Chamberlain was an Australian born and bred tractor brand from way back in the 1940s which had its first tractor - the Chamberlain 40K, rolling off the production line in 1949 from its factory in Welshpool, Western Australia.  

The 40K featured a 6.0L twin-cylinder kerosene engine pumping out 49hp and weighs about four tonnes.

Chamberlain went on to develop and manufacture about 27 models with power going up to 164hp from its Welshpool site until the mid-1980s, when significant decline in demand forced the company to cease production.

In fact, the brand got so successful that it caught John Deere’s attention, which purchased a controlling interest in Chamberlain in 1970.

According to ABC’s report, the committee raised over $600,000 to fund the tractor build, which was a mix of local shire and development awards as well as corporate and private donations.

The sculpture plan was drawn up by engineer Frank Kidsman back in 2018, and was built and put together by industrial engineering specialist, DIAB Engineering, over the span of one year.

Over 40 tonnes of steel were used to build the replica, with each piece carefully crafted and transported from Geraldton to the sculpture’s final site in Carnamah for assembly.

The committee said it hopes the new attraction will put Carnamah on the local and global map, just like the other ‘Big things’ have done for other Australian rural townships.

A report by Grain Central said there are now plans to build the Big Tractor a shelter.