NORTH Queensland machinery enthusiasts must have felt like kids in a candy store at the 6th biennial Queensland Heritage Rally which was held in North Queensland for the first time at the Ayr Showgrounds from July 25-27.
Visitors over the three days got to experience vintage machinery in action, from miniature engines to painstakingly restored cars, bikes and tractors.
Member for the Burdekin Rosemary Menkens officially opened the Rally on Saturday morning and visitors flocked through the gates in the thousands to inspect the majestic machines on display.
A highlight of the rally was the official unveiling of the only functioning Marshall Colonial Class C two-cylinder single-speed model oil tractor in the world which the Burdekin Machinery Preservationists Club has been restoring for the past three years.
To access the full photo gallery from the day, click on the image below.
Club treasurer Alf Shand said it’s been a long journey to get the Marshall to the near fully restored condition it is in today.
“When we brought it back from Mourilyan it was a functionless, rusted, engineless hulk, but we’ve gradually pieced it back together to the point that it will be 95 per cent functional,” Alf said.
“We had to build a lot of the parts from scratch in the workshop including the carburetter (which alone took two months of solid work to replicate), roof and chassis repairs.
“The tricky thing was that we were trying to emulate the original design as closely as possible, so a lot of meticulous research and design work was involved.”
Also taking pride of place at the rally was Tom Callow’s rare four cylinder Marshall Colonial Tractor (which was first manufactured in 1914). Tom owns one of only 10 restored Marshall Colonial tractors in the world. He brought it to life by combining parts from two abandoned Marshalls from western QLD farms at Hughenden and Muttaburra.
There were also trade displays and a daily grand parade with all the vintage vehicles on show, woodwork/craft/ blacksmithing displays and workshops, and entertainment for the kids.