Meet Victoria s Baler Man!!

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Philip Strickland
5 years ago
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In the corner of a stubble paddock, forty heritage balers were lined up; some in their working clothes, others carefully restored; twenty-four of these were owned by the host of the day, Murray

1 Meet Victoria s Baler Man!! Story & Photos: Ken Bock On Saturday the 9 th & Sunday 10 th March 2013, a group of heritage baler enthusiasts converged on Goorambat, a small town about twenty kms north- west of Benalla, Victoria. In the corner of a stubble paddock, forty heritage balers were lined up; some in their working clothes, others carefully restored; twenty-four of these were owned by the host of the day, Murray Stokes. There were six painted in Cliff & Bunting red; however Twin City, Massey Harris, John Deere, Allis Chalmers, Case, Ferguson, David Brown, Claas, International Harvester, Gibbins, Narmbool, Mitchell and New Holland were also represented. This heritage hay baler weekend was due to the hard work and endeavour of Murray Stokes; a retired school teacher; baler restorer; good bloke! Left: David Chapman using his Little Howard tractor to pull Murray s Cliff & Bunting Number 16 baler. Murray has collected and restored a number of Cliff & Bunting balers over the past few years. These include a # 32 Auto Twine Tie stationary; # 14 pick-up wire tie; # 16 pick-up wire tie; # 21automatic twine tie pick-up; # 22 automatic twine tie pick-up and a # 24 pick-up twine tie. Left: Another of Murray s C&B balers. This is the extremely rare Number 14; note the single wheel at the front To add to the weekend, there were four members of the Cliff family in attendance who were thrilled to see life return to the machinery of yesteryear that bore the family name. The weekend somehow had a different feeling about it, something different from the usual vintage machinery rally; when asked, Murray described the event as being more of a celebration of the development of farm machinery rather than a display of older machinery, words that we could ponder on. On the Saturday night the celebration continued with ninety people sitting down to a sumptuous two course dinner. The Goorambat Hall was set up with all kinds of baler information being displayed around the walls. These displays depicted the development of balers over the past one hundred or so years.

Above: The early 1900s IHC one horse press owned by Markwood steam man, Robin Gibb being operated by Robert Edwards Delivery Horse, Dot This event was not publicised in any way other than by word of

Some of the old machines did not work as well as was hoped; but with dry wheaten straw and knotters not having been turned over for many years, everything went as well as could be expected.

2 Above: The early 1900s IHC one horse press owned by Markwood steam man, Robin Gibb being operated by Robert Edwards Delivery Horse, Dot This event was not publicised in any way other than by word of mouth; still, around 250 to 300 attended this celebration of baling history. Some of the old machines did not work as well as was hoped; but with dry wheaten straw and knotters not having been turned over for many years, everything went as well as could be expected. Another feature of the event was the static display of Bruce Parris s modified Cliff & Bunting wire tie baler. For more history on this baler please refer to TOMM issue 161, pgs. 38 & 39. The photo on the left shows the pick-up modification on the baler and the W6 tractor used to haul the baler. In front of the pick-up is Mr. Bruce Parris (owner of the baler & tractor) and, left Mr. Cliff Higgins, a long-time employee [over thirty years] of F.W. Parris & Sons. It is interesting to note that Cliff drove this tractor from Melbourne to Nagambie [long before the freeway] in 1945 when he was just seventeen years old. Although the planning for the weekend was the brainchild of Murray Stokes, there were others that assisted. It would be remiss of me not to mention the nearby Warby Engine Club Inc., a solid band of collectors and restorers who willingly offered tractors to pull Murray s balers along.

3 Some of the club members also brought along heritage balers to add to the day, with great results. Right: Club member George Bennett s Massey Harris 701 baler hauled by his Model CA Allis Chalmers tractor. Although obviously in their working clothes, both of these machines performed well. Other people who must be mentioned are Neil Feldtmann, who generously made his paddock of wheat stubble available and who organised it to be windrowed so that the weekend could take place and Bill Meikle who inspired Murray to organise the weekend by helping out with restoration work where possible, especially his engineering skills. In conclusion, thank you Murray Stokes, for the concept of this Heritage Baler Weekend. The event was well received by all who attended, the balers from the oldest stationary manual feed models up to the more modern self-propelled machines performed well. Murray has spent many hours over a number of years researching, collecting and restoring these machines of his passion. When pressed as to when he would hold the next Heritage Baler Weekend, Murray was understandably evasive. This weekend had taken so much of his time and thinned his wallet to such a degree that he feels that once in a lifetime was enough. But then again, could he be persuaded with more assistance? Time will tell.

of Craig Martin from Ruffy with his Allis

farmer s fix, the air intake pre-cleaner

4 More photos of the Murray Stokes Goorambat Baler Weekend. Shiny Twin City Bale-O-Matic looks like new. The Allis-Chalmers Model B tractor of Craig Martin from Ruffy with his Allis Roto-Baler Although this appears to be a farmer s fix, the air intake pre-cleaner was made of hessian! An Oliver tractor belonging to local farmer, Murray Wright, with a John Deere 114 W baler. The Allis Roto Baler; having some tyre trouble. An early (1952) Australian Sunshine Massey Harris Engine functioned pickup.

And not forgetting the Oldies (Machines that is!

An interested crowd watch Ken Paton (owner), Robin Gibb and

Steve Pleming on his cross engine Case, driving Ken Paton s

Andrew Holman with Burnie Clancy s McCormick Deering Type M

5 And not forgetting the Oldies (Machines that is!) these photos by Marise Riddell. An interested crowd watch Ken Paton (owner), Robin Gibb and Andrew Holman with the Pre WW 1 IHC Belt Powered Press. Steve Pleming on his cross engine Case, driving Ken Paton s IHC Belt Powered Hay Press. Andrew Holman with Burnie Clancy s McCormick Deering Type M at the Goorambat Baling Weekend. A Cliff & Bunting Number 32 Automatic Twine Tie stationary baler driven by an engine from the same manufacturer.

1.. I.. I.. Large round balers. Bill Hires Charles Ellis Agricultural Engineering Department College of Agriculture

1.. I.. I.. Large round balers. Bill Hires Charles Ellis Agricultural Engineering Department College of Agriculture ..... I I...... J... 1.. 1....... I...... I.. I.. Large round balers Bill Hires Charles Ellis Agricultural Engineering Department College of Agriculture The continuing search for a labor-saving method