Tractors lined up at Tapanui

A  New Zealand attempt to set an unbeatable World Record for the largest number of self laying tracked machines working in one area. West Otago Vintage Club invites all tracked machine owners to participate in the New Zealand attempt to create a World Record of Self Laying Tracks and Crawlers. If you are a vintage tractor enthusiasts  then you  would love to read the news we are  going to tell you. The West Otago Vintage Club  set a world record for the most self-laying track machines operating in one paddock: 503 machines.

Some excerpts of  the tourists travelogues  which can help us know more interesting facts about Tapanui. As they travelled to Tapanui  there was a small  camp site marked in the Hema camp which had a catchy write up.  Only if one reads between the lines carefully   you would get a good feel of it. The tourists rang in  as they had  a fair drive and happened to come across a  message that a record smashing event had taken place. The tourists were curious to know more about it and  they decided to press the brakes  to satisfy their inquisitive buds by getting to know more about the record breaker. When the tourists enquired from  a few locals about  the event  they were informed that over 500 track laying vehicles had gathered there the  previous day. The crawler tractors were   staged to create a fresh infusion  into the record categories. The South of the South Island (Otago & Southland) is reputed to have the highest density of crawler tractors per given area in the world and they had succeeded in having 503 vehicles simultaneously working - each of the machines towed one harrow leaf for about 20 minutes around a stubble paddock under the watchful eye of three Justices of the Peace. And to the   surprise  of the tourists 95 % of the vehicles were crawlers  with 20 hydraulic diggers, 2  bren gun carriers  and 6 or so  half track wheel tractors making up the balance. The 480 odd crawlers there were probably only about 50% of the available crawlers in the area. A lot of local farmers  who didn't own heavy trucks of their own, weren't prepared to pay for local transport companies to do the hauling. The attempt was part of the West Otago Vintage Club 50th birthday celebrations. Many had left but there were still a large number in the field and a steady stream of transporters coming to load them up. The tourists also managed to take a few snaps  before proceeding to their camp site.

The Tapanui Motor Camp turned out to be even smaller than expected but was a real gem. There were no cabins but a couple of modestly priced caravans. Each of the four power sites/caravan had its own individual adjacent toilet and shower and in addition we decided there was probably space for another 4 tents or very small campers. Charlie Davis a tractor enthusiast and convener was eager to have 700 but felt getting  a little over 500 was not too bad either.

The west Otago club   saw a fitting way to celebrate its 50th birthday by smashing and creating a  new world record. This was the best way to know the role of what a humble crawler   tractor plays in shaping the agricultural landscape.

The Largest number of crawler tractors counted  to 503 and was set by West Otago Club at Tapanui, New Zealand on March 17, 2008.