The McDonald Imperial Oil Tractor Model EB #140

It was purchased on behalf of the Australian people by an anonymous philanthropist who lives in Melbourne.

The return of the tractor is a direct result of strenuous lobbying by John Edgar, a keen collector and restorer of heritage agricultural machinery from Portland, and Stuart Landry, a dairy farmer from Leongatha, who is the recognised Australian expert on these early oil tractors.

"I knew about it 47 years ago when it was on French Island and I have followed it along since then," Mr Landry recalled.

The tractor, one of two known intact survivors, had been sold to a farmer in 1912 after it's manufacture by A. H. McDonald & Co. who was Australia's first tractor manufacturer.

Mr Landry said it was later sold to a museum in South Australia and upon its dispersal, the tractor went to England, in breach of the Heritage Act.

"John and I knew it was in England, but then 11 years later it popped up on an auction site in the USA," he said.

"We both found it simultaneously and lobbied to bring it back to Australia."

This Australian treasure - one of only two intact in the world - arrived recently and cleared customs and quarantine thorough the Port of Melbourne.

It was then reassembled by Australian vintage tractor enthusiasts and engineers to operating condition to prepare it for the next journey, where it will be located at the National Museum, Canberra.

"It is a heritage machine and of national significance and the museum will be custodians," Mr Edgar said.

But what of these fascinating machines?

They were manufactured by the famous firm, AH McDonald & Co, Melbourne, which had been founded in 1903 to make electrical appliances in a small workshop.

Two years later, Alfred Henry McDonald and his brother Ernest introduced a line of "Imperial" gasoline/kerosene stationary engines to their business.

In 1908 the company fitted its D-Type twin-cylinder engine into a four-wheel chassis, and the first McDonald "Imperial Oil Tractor" was born.

Two years later, the company relocated to a new factory at Burnley, near Melbourne, which gave the company the space to increase production and continue experimenting with tractors.

The early tractors built by the company were inspired by British and American designs, particularly those produced by Saunderson, Hart-Parr and Big Four.

"A glimpse of the early industrial manufacturing is captured by the picture of the workshop which has some of the components of another Imperial Oil Tractor in the foreground and these parts may even be tractor #140!," John Edgar said.

"These machines are so rare given the production numbers which indicate there is less than 36 or so produced, the exact number is unknown.

"Each machine has their number stamped into many of the components, as they are very much hand-built and there are differences throughout the entire run."

Tractor #140 is the number applied over the entire output of the McDonald factory, and it has number 28 stamped in many places which indicates it is the 28^th Imperial Oil Tractor assembled.

"Tractor #140 is one of only two which has survived intact at present with another three or four in various stages of restoration, some time in the future there may be others returned to operating condition as work by dedicated restorers progresses," Mr Edgar said.

"Inside the engine is also revealing, with hand-forged valve rockers that are unique.

"Every one features its own shape and functions just like they should, in #140 there is a very human touch with an arrow beside the figure "1/8" indicating the difference between each cylinder valve tappet."

Given the age of this machine, it is now 110 years, Mr Edgar said the internal components are in superb condition.

"The crankshaft is representative of the current industrial practice and available technology, built up by construction with separate pieces, the webs are cut out of plate and shrunk onto the shafting," he said.

"As it is, this Imperial Oil Tractor provides an insight into the advanced engineering capability of AH McDonald & Co, and the materials available at this early time."

How does it compare to others of that era?

Given the times of early and rapid advances as internal combustion was replacing steam power, Mr Edgar said the Imperial demonstrates the innovative technical advances above all others on the market in the early 1900's with so many features not so remote from a tractor many decades later.

"It was so far ahead of the famous firm, International Harvester as to be a statement of innovative Australian engineering," he said.

"Only this last month, the local engineering team had finished assembly of the Imperial, making adjustments and small repairs with a fresh 110 year service test run, it is more than capable of pulling a plough, harrow or harvester just as it had been designed to do in 1912 although now it's in retirement and ready to transport to Canberra, where this national treasure will be available for all to see a glimpse of what Australia was capable of."