AUCTION
Live simulcast auction Sunday 25th September at 10:30am AWST (12:30pm AEST).
Three Springs, Western Australia 6519 (address will be released 2-weeks before auction)
BIDDING
Live Bidding can be undertaken live online or in-person at Three Springs WA.
Pre-bidding opens from 10am Monday 19th September 2022
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Telephone bidding is available, though is subject to limited availability. Please download the form here and return via e-mail to [email protected]
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call us on (03) 9882 1433 or e-mail [email protected]
VIEWING
Friday 23rd September 9am – 4:30pm
Saturday 24th September 9am – 4:30pm
Sunday 25th September 9am-10am
Three Springs, Western Australia 6519 (address will be released 2-weeks before auction)
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John and Sue Illingworth’s unique collection consisting of over 150 vintage tractors and machinery to be offered at auction in Three Springs, Western Australia on 25th September 2022. This collection was created by husband-and-wife team, Sue and the late John Illingworth.
This remarkable collection was assembled over 50-years, with a highlight being the first commercially produced tractor in the world, the 1904 Ivel Agricultural Motor Tractor. This tractor is one of only 8 left in existence, with other examples scattered around the globe, including one in the Science Museum in London. Our example, being number ‘352’ is recognised as the 7th oldest tractor in the world and one of the most original. In October 2019 a similar Ivel owned by doyen of the marque, the late John Moffit, was sold for a world record price of £328,600.
John Illingworth was one of the first people in his UK district to apply for a tractor for ploughing, which was still carried by horses at the time.
John was originally from Clitheroe, Lancashire and emigrated to Western Australia in 1969 , where he established a sheep and wheat farm near Arrino, in the Three Springs region. (On marrying in 1978, Sue emigrated from Yorkshire to join him.)
John’s love of tractors & vintage machinery only grew, and it soon became a shared passion of John and Sue spending weekends searching for tractors that had been decommissioned years earlier and were languishing in barns, sheds and even fields. Sometimes, this even included tractors needing excavation by hand as they had sunk into the wet fields and were left abandoned.
On one occasion Sue recalls ‘they were invited to collect a tractor out of a farmer’s shed, that turned out to be packed to the brim with rubbish and debris built up over years. Having removed most of the back of the shed and chained the only part of the tractor they could reach, they were surprised to pull out an unrestored and rare Munktell tractor!’
John and Sue’s collection grew to such an extent, that they constructed a ‘Supershed’ to house the collection on the farm, and built up a reputation amongst the vintage tractor community. The shed also houses other curiosities including a 1928 Dennis Fire Engine and even a WWII Stuart M3 Fort Knox Military Tank.
John took great pleasure in restoring and re-commissioning the tractors back to their former glory. He was highly motivated, and even at his passing at age 92 still had numerous tractors in-line to be restored!
Sue has decided it’s time for the collection to be passed onto new custodians, with the hope that the new owners will get as much enjoyment from them as they have.