9G Chamberlain Tractor Club tours Mid West towns, raising thousands of dollars for RFDS

Three vintage tractors towing caravans rolled through Mid West towns last week, overcoming COVID-19 borders to raise money for sick children and regional Australians.

The 9G Chamberlain Tractor Club has completed another annual trek travelling for three months from Temora NSW to Dongara, with many deviations because of COVID-19, to raise more than $9000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

MORE NEWS

• Geraldton word lovers go back in time to mark end of Big Sky Readers and Writers Festival
• Geraldton Regional Art Gallery new exhibitions showcase WA artists
• City of Greater Geraldton spend $8000 on TLC for chipped sculpture

The drive took them through New South Wales, Queensland, and the Northern Territory before hitting Kununurra, Derby, Onslow and Exmouth during their journey through WA, in a modified route of what was meant to be a re-enactment of their first trek in 2000.

The drivers of this year’s trek arrived in Geraldton at noon on Friday before embarking on the last leg of their trip.

Geraldton-based club member Jim Cole, one of about 100 members from the Mid West, was there to greet the team of eight he had hoped to undertake the journey with but had turned back from Byron Bay in August because of border restrictions.

I used Royal Flying Doctor Service as a young fellow and they saved my life, so it’s good to give back.

The club, named after the famous workhorse tractor of the 1950s and 60s, was formed in 1999 by Dongara water drilling contractor Hugh Campbell and machinery manufacturer Peter Nunn.

It raises money for RFDS and buys equipment for the children’s wards of hospitals.

“I used Royal Flying Doctor Service as a young fellow and they saved my life, so it’s good to give back,” Mr Campbell said.

Members travel in restored 9G tractors, which are kept by 40 members as recreational vehicles.