Vintage machinery collector Kerry Pietsch is holding a one-off event to showcase his historical headers harvesting a wheat crop – a scene that he says may be once in a lifetime
The agricultural industry has long embraced advancements in technology, creating benefits such as higher productivity and reduced manual labour.
Enormous combine harvesters are all too common nowadays for these exact reasons, but one man aiming to shine a light on the machinery of old is Pleasant Hills-based farmer and vintage header collector Kerry Pietsch.
Pietsch’s passion for vintage headers goes back as far as he can remember, admitting that he believes he was born in the wrong era.
“The fact that there’s machinery over 100 years old and still going today, I just love the way they used to manufacture,” he says.
“My first collectable was a really old tractor, and it needed a lot of work to get up and going – that’s when I began to restore historic machinery.”
Event from the past
Now with one of Australia’s largest private collections of vintage headers, Pietsch has decided to hold a one-off event to showcase the machines in action, which otherwise would be hidden from the world.
As principal of the Warrangong Heritage Collection Incorporated, Pietsch is holding the Warrangong Vintage Harvest Day at his own Pleasant Hills farm, near Henty in New South Wales, on January 11.
In a setting that will be reminiscent of early 1900s farming, 27 tractor-drawn vintage headers will be fired up to harvest a 15-hectare Ford wheat crop.
“All of these machines were scrap at one point in time, so they probably never would have been seen again,” Pietsch says.
“To have them all in action is going to be mind-boggling, and a scene that will not have been witnessed in the bush for generations.”
His collection spans a stripper, headers and harvesters, including horse-drawn, PTO and self-propelled machines of many makes and models, and it’s taking up a fair share of room in an increasing number of sheds.
The collection ranges from a horse-drawn 1902 David Shearer Maker’s Mannum stripper to a 1980 John Deere 1051 PTO header, while the collection also includes a homemade header.
To build the homemade header, a Gleaner crawler tractor was converted to a harvester with planks of wood on the tracks to help with traction in wet conditions.
Two gear boxes feature – one to drive the tractor and one to operate the harvester.
The Warrangong Vintage Harvest Day will not be the first time Pietsch has shown off his collection, having held a successful vintage harvest day in February 2014, but 2025 is sure to be his last event.
He concedes that there will be some machines on display that were also shown 10 years ago, however the majority have never been seen before.
One of the reasons for following-up the original event a decade later was to specifically show the machinery working – rather than just being on static display.
“We had a bit of issue at the original event where external people were bringing in their own machines, but they didn’t function that well when we put them in the crop,” Pietsch says.
“I had told them that the headers had to be working, so this time round it’s going to be just my own machinery.”
Apart from this issue at the first event, that day in 2014 was a blast for Pietsch, remembering it like it was yesterday.
“It was so fantastic, we got warm weather and people really loved it,” he says.
“Over the years, I’ve had people keep asking when’s the next one, so I decided there’s no better time than 10 years on.
“You can’t guarantee anything with your health, and I’m getting older, so it was now or never for me.”
Century-old centrepiece
At the centre of the showcase will be a restored 1925 Sunshine auto header which marked its centenary in 2024 at Henty Machinery Field Days.
Designed by Henty’s own Headlie Shipard Taylor, the machine was made in Sunshine, Melbourne, 100 years ago.
When Pietsch first bought the header, it was without a motor and grain bin, so he knew it would take a long time to source these parts, but now after three years, he says it can now go straight in the crop and strip it.
Over the course of the three-year project, Pietsch restored the machine as close as possible to its original state, including repainting it in its primary colour and sourcing a big box.
“These boxes are fairly rare, and I’d seen photos of Sunshine headers with that box on them, so I didn’t want a bagging platform,” he says.
“I painted it all the colours that it would have originally had on it, and it had an enormous amount of the original pinstriping.
“I’m probably the only one in Australia that’s got this specific model.”
Pietsch says being able to showcase these machines at the upcoming harvest day will provide a unique insight on how his, and attendees’ own, ancestors farmed a century ago.
Some of his machines provide these insights quite literally, such as the fully restored US manufactured Cockshutt, that once belonged to his uncle.
Henty Machinery Field Days is a major sponsor of the Warrangong Vintage Harvest Day, with Pietsch thanking them for their support.
Gates will open at 8am on the day of the event, with demonstrations set to get underway at 9am.
Vintage machinery enthusiast Kevin Elphick will also provide talks throughout the day, while lunch, snacks and refreshments will be for sale.
Entry fees are listed as follows, adults $22, concession $18, children 12 to 16 years $10, and under 12s can enter free. Tickets will be available online or at the gate via card only.
“This day will be very special as 95 per cent of young people have never seen any of these headers operating,” Pietsch says.
“They only ever see modern machinery with air-conditioned cabins, but on these old machines you are sitting out in the dust, chaff and hot sun.
“Most of these old headers will only ever sit in machinery sheds. It is rare to see them operating and it will be a once in a lifetime event to have so many together in the one crop.”
For more information, contact Kerry Pietsch on 0480 143 398, or email warrangongharvestday@gmail.com
Directions to the Warrangong Vintage Harvest Day (January 11) are as follows: Warrangong is 90km from Wagga Wagga. Follow the road to Lockhart, turn left to Albury, travel 23km to Thomas Lane, turn left and follow the signs. From Albury, go through Jindera to Walbundrie, then another 30km to Thomas Lane, turn right for 4km, follow the signs. From Henty to Pleasant Hills, turn right at Hughes Street, travel 6km on Osborne-Pleasant Hills Road, turn left onto gravel, follow the signs.