September 19, 2014
Visitors coming to Kingaroy for this weekend’s vintage machinery rally could well go home with an extra John Deere tractor or two.
On Saturday, Ken and Janice Jensen will be parting with their family’s collection of vintage tractors at a special auction being held in Kingaroy.
Seventeen John Deeres – ranging in age from the 1920s to 1950s – will be going under the hammer, as well as host of other farming collectibles.
The items are the legacy of a lifetime of collecting by Ken’s father, Andy, and mother, Daphne.
Sadly, Daphne, 86, died on Easter Monday this year; Andy passed away earlier, in 2000, aged 78.
Ken said his father had 23 tractors in his collection when he died. His mother simply kept them in storage from that time.
Over the past three months or so, Ken has been checking over the machines, and now all but one are running again.
Not all will be sold, with the family deciding to hold onto four of the tractors themselves.
Bundaberg Auctions will be handling the sale of the rest, with an auction getting underway at 9:30am on Saturday.
Going under the hammer will be John Deere models A, AR, B, D, G, R, 40, 40C, 40H, 40S, 50, 70 (two), 730R, 730S, 830 and 420C.
Some are restored, while others are still in very good, original condition.
There’s also John Deere horse ploughs, a John Deere push mower, a John Deere lawn tractor, a John Deere whipper snipper and some early John Deere wheels …
So why did Andy concentrate on John Deere?
“He was a farmer all his life,” Ken said. “They were always his favourites.”
Andy was born in the South Burnett. His father was a farmer at Gordonbrook.
After he married Daphne in 1948, the couple moved to Biloela where Andy was one of the first growers to introduce peanuts into that region.
They later returned to the South Burnett where they continued their connection with peanuts.
As well as growing them, Andy became a PMB Board member, while Daphne took up a job as Grower’s Clerk at PMB.
When he retired from farming, Andy bought a house in First Avenue, Kingaroy, and set up “First Avenue Machinery” next door to buy and sell secondhand farm machinery.
He eventually sold the business to Graham Black in 1989 (sadly, First Avenue Machinery shut its doors for the last time earlier this year).
Andy also began collecting tractors in the 1980s.
Ken said they came from far and wide – Biloela, Gympie, Drayton as well as the South Burnett area.
Andy was a member of the Kingaroy and District Vintage Machinery Club and would take his tractors to machinery rallies as well as events such as the Kingaroy Peanut Festival street parade.
As well as the tractors and the other John Deere-branded items, the auctioneers will also be selling a host of other items on Saturday including tools, a walking stick planter, tractor tyres, a Ronaldson Bros & Tippett 4hp one-cylinder stationery engine, cast iron bath, camp ovens, rabbit traps etc.
All the items will be on display from 9:00am today (Friday) at an Open Day at the family property at 11 Booie-Crawford Road (which is also on the market).
“It’s sad but it’s an end of era,” Janice said.
“Hopefully everything will go to good homes where the next generation can get to enjoy them.”
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The Kingaroy & District Vintage Machinery Club’s annual rally will be held this weekend (September 20-21) at the club’s grounds in Geoff Raph Drive at Kingaroy Airport.
There will be be John Deere tractors (of course), Chev trucks, stationery engines, bikes, crawlers, steam machinery as well as market stalls and a swap meet.
Admission is $10 (children under 12 free).
For more information contact Russell on 0428-188-358 or Matt on 0427-657-945.
