Matamata farmer’s 1960 Massey Ferguson 35 ‘Eric’ a tribute to his first employer

Waikato Vintage Tractor and Machinery Club president Ross Sainsbury and "Eric", the 1960 Massey Ferguson 35. Photo / Catherine Fry

Ross Sainsbury and his wife Vicky live in the beautiful homestead on the Matamata dairy farm his grandfather bought in 1930.

Sainsbury’s parents farmed the property from 1949.

He was raised there and bought it from the family in 1980.

“Vicky and I raised our three children here and we’ve just leased it to our daughter and son-in-law,” he said.

“I still manage our other 120-hectare drystock farm in Te Poi.”

Sainsbury has a degree from Massey University and moved into farm consultancy.

“When things were grim in the 1980s, I ran the dairy farm, a run-off, and was also farm consulting.

“Vicky worked fulltime as a teacher, and we brought up our three kids.

“I still don’t quite know how we did it!”

An early love

Ross Sainsbury with his 1960 Massey Ferguson 35 "Eric". Photo / Catherine Fry

Sainsbury is the Waikato Vintage Tractor and Machinery Club president, and has loved tractors from an early age, especially “little grey Fergies”.

“I had a wooden Fergy with a wooden trailer which was my go-to toy in the sandpit for many years.”

His first paid job away from his parents’ farm was for local farmers Eric and Kath Waldon who were really good to him.

Ross Sainsbury drove this 1960 Massey Ferguson 35 at his first job. Photo / Catherine Fry

The Waldons had a 1960 Massey Ferguson 35 when Eric died in 1978.

Their farm was managed for several years.

“The Fergy 35 blew up and was abandoned in a shed which eventually fell down around it,” Sainsbury said.

“Eric and Kath’s daughters kindly offered me the tractor and we dragged it over to our home farm.

“A couple of South Africans who were working for me at the time got it up and running.

“It came back, with the name ‘Eric’ painted on it.”

Ross was gifted the little Fergy 35 from the Waldon family. Photo / Catherine Fry

Owning that tractor is very special for Sainsbury.

It reminds him of the time he spent with Eric.

“It’s definitely my favourite tractor in a nostalgic sort of way.”

The Ferguson 35s were general-purpose farm tractors with 35hp, four-cylinder petrol engines.

“I use it around my farm with a rear-mounted sickle bar mower, grader blade, back end loader, earth scoop or Cordwood saw,” Sainsbury said.

“I deliberately find jobs that I can use Eric for.”

Club work

Ross is fitting an early 1950s Mörtl mid-mounted sickle bar mower to "Eric". Photo / Catherine Fry

At the Waikato Vintage Tractor and Machinery Club, Eric has participated in ploughing, cultivation work and trekking.

Once they tested it with a dynamometer and it reached 28.8hp.

Sainsbury isn’t sure what happened to the other 6hp.

A current project is fitting Eric with an early 1950s Mörtl mid-mounted sickle bar mower which has a few parts missing.