Farm machines from a bygone era once again proved they are still more than capable of doing the job for which they were designed. The only claim modern machines have is that they can do a whole lot more of the same job, and the operator is in a safer and more comfortable position.

It was a very hot day, when high cloud made it bearable for the spectators to watch the old machines bring in the harvest at Saddleworth, SA. It gave me great satisfaction to witness several of the ‘new’ items in my collection performing their tasks, after being restored to operating condition. I believe that the Model 12A John Deere header was the first header produced by the company. Powered by a two cylinder John Deere  petrol motor, I have been told that they were very good machines in small seed crops, but they struggled in heavy cereal crops due to a small walker area. 

Another past operator told me that they were in a low rainfall area and, in