LIGHTS On The Hill (LOTH), the biggest static and working displays of vintage farm machinery, trucks, cars and stationary engines in Western Australia will be back this year, but later than usual.
After not being able to be held as normal in early April last year or in 2020 because of the COVID-19 risk and event restrictions, it has moved to a new permanent calendar slot of the first Saturday in May - this year May 6.
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One of LOTH's Tracmach (Vintage Tractor & Machinery Association of WA) organisers, Busselton tractor collector and restorer Robert Cook, said the new date would hopefully make it easier for more people to attend.
"We used to clash with either Easter or Anzac Day, but the (City of Albany) gave up May 6 (as an event date) so we grabbed it," Mr Cook said.
The popular show will be held at its traditional location, Talbot's Farm, Heppingstone Road, Brunswick Junction.
The renewal of a 10-year lease for Talbot's Farm and some other issues had until recently made the return of LOTH, which has regularly attracted more than 900 visitors each year since it was first held in 2013, to Brunswick Junction uncertain.
"The lease has been sorted, some other issues have been sorted and it's all good to go," Mr Cook said.
A Tracmach organising committee meeting later this month will work out a schedule for the day's events and finalise what stallholders there will be.
"We know what we are going to do," he said.
"There will be the ploughing display, the bulldozer and earthmoving display, the tractor sled pull, lots of old trucks, cars and stationary engines."
He said this year's LOTH would celebrate former avid tractor and implements collector and restorer and Tracmach member Tony Pailthorpe.
"It's 10 years this year since Tony passed, he had a huge collection which took three clearing sales to disperse," Mr Cook said.
Former Benger dairy farmer Mr Pailthorpe collected tractors and implements for more than 30 years, often travelling interstate and to the United States to source the correct parts for tractors he was restoring.
Among the more than 1000 pieces in his collection when he died suddenly from a stroke, were 150 International Harvester (IH) Company tractors which was at one time the largest historic IH collection in the southern hemisphere.
It included his last restoration, a Prairie Tractor called a Titan D, which was built by the International Harvester Company at its Milwaukee Works, Wisconsin, in 1912.
It was passed in at $190,000 at one of the clearing sales.
Also among his collection was a rare 1917 Titan 15-30, a rare McCormick 0-14 tractor and a rare Farmall Widefront F12 (1932-38), an International AW6 Standard (1953-57) which was built at the International Harvester factory in Geelong and a Hart Parr 16-30 (1924-26).
There was also a huge collection of implements, machinery books, operator's manuals, company signs, tools and sundry items.
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"When Tony's collection was sold off they (tractors) went all over the place, some of them to collectors interstate," Mr Cook said.
"We are hoping we can get many of them back together again at Lights On The Hill this year to celebrate Tony and his collecting."