Construction of the world's biggest steel tractor sculpture began earlier this month in Geraldton, with a whopping 40 tonnes of steel required to build the Chamberlain 40K replica, destined for Carnamah in the Mid West.
Vintage Tractor & Machinery Association of WA (Tracmach WA) founder Bob Lukins originally came up with the idea of building a giant steel replica tractor as a tourist attraction many years ago.
While the replica was originally slated to be built in Gnowangerup, when the plan did not receive wider support, members of the Carnamah community swooped in and picked the project up, seeing it as a tourist attraction that would complement the town's existing tractor museum.
Recently appointed to build Carnamah's giant Chamberlain 40K replica, DIAB Engineering's project manager Xavier Sequeira said due to the size of the sculpture, which is five times the size of the original tractor, the build had to be broken up into segments which would require numerous trips to be transported to Carnamah.
"Our plan is to do a full assembly of the sculpture here at our workshop and then unbolt it again, so we can transport it to the site and erect it there again," Mr Sequeira said.
While the engineering firm has had plenty of experience in building and transporting large, purpose built, steel structures for the State's mining industry, he said the company was far less acquainted with building steel sculptures such as this one, which required "much more finesse".
"This project is quite rare for us - I don't know of any other projects that we've done like it," Mr Sequeira said.
"But the parents of the chief executive of our company, Glen Payne, had a Chamberlain tractor and I think he still has two of the tractors himself, so he was really interested in us undertaking this project."
Designed to be 17m long, 11m high and approximately 8m wide, the firm is using a large plasma cutter to cut the steel sheets, which are then rolled or bent in various directions and welded together to form the structure.
"We will be fastening a few assemblies together with bolts and nuts, because obviously a 17m structure is unwieldy," Mr Sequeria said.
"At the moment there are two of us operating on the project management side of things, and in the workshop we have about a dozen people who will be working on the sculpture.
"We are on schedule to have it finished around April next year."
A site in the centre of Carnamah has been designated for the replica, near the John Deere Tractor Museum which houses more than 60 restored tractor models, including a number of Chamberlains, and was created by Carnamah's retired machinery dealer, Hal Walton.
Carnamah farmer Brendon Haeusler, who chairs the Carnamah Big Tractor Project Committee, said more than $500,000 had been raised for the project so far, but they were yet to reach their target, with the sculpture itself expected to cost about $600,000.
"We've had some money trickle in over the past few months, and we are still waiting for a response from a mining company that we are hoping might be able to make a substantial contribution," Mr Haeusler said.
"As we've started the project now, that basically rules us out from receiving any government funding, because typically you can't be seen to have started a project before you get a grant.
"But the CBH Group and Nutrien (Ag Solutions) have community grants which come up pretty regularly so we will likely apply for a few of those rounds."
Among the project's generous donors is AFGRI Equipment which contributed $50,000 over three years, and the Shire of Carnamah, committing $30,000 towards the project for this financial year.
"We plan to put the Shire's money towards the interpretative side of things, so things like signage as well as a hand cranked audio unit," Mr Haeusler said.
"For the audio, we've interviewed three Tracmach members as well as Hal Walton, to explain some of the history around the Chamberlain tractor."
With many farmers in the region having experienced a rather lacklustre season, Mr Haeusler said the opening of the world-first structure next year would give locals something to look forward to.
"It would be great to have the opening before seeding programs start next year," Mr Haeusler said.
"I think this sculpture will certainly help boost our tourist numbers too, not only for the John Deere Tractor Museum, but for the town itself."
