Tail End Charlie back to plough up the kilometres

His first journey was as part of a car rally – now it’s all about raising funds for breast and prostate cancer.

Ron was 22 in 1957 when he was part of a six-man crew driving a Chamberlain tractor as a sweep vehicle for the Mobilgas Round Australia Rally.

The tractor became known as Tail End Charlie and completed the journey without a hitch in 19 days.

“It was an international rally and we had to keep going 24/7,” Ron, now 82, recalled.

“Being the rescue vehicle we had to stay behind at each checkpoint until each vehicle had left.

“I only had two nights sleep in a bed the whole 19 days – the rest of the time was in the back of a car or the tractor.

“Back in 1957 I never envisaged I would be doing it again all these years later.”

In July this year, the 60th anniversary of the event will be celebrated by a re-enactment with Ron and a small crew on Tail End Charlie II, a younger 1962 champion model Chamberlain.

Tractor owner Dick Garnett, 78, will be on board, and the pair’s wives Kerry Bywaters, 77, and Barbara Garnett, 78, will travel in support vehicles.

Setting off from Wundowie, they will finish 57 days and 15,000km later at the National Ballooning Championships at Northam on September 1.

Funds raised enroute will be donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and Breast Cancer Network Australia.

The journey follows the 50th anniversary celebrations with the same tractor in 2007, which saw Ron take part in a 38-day journey that raised $22,000.

The more leisurely pace this time will allow for stopovers in more towns and communities, from Darwin to Dubbo.

“We’re older and the tractor is older so we are giving ourselves more time,” Ron said.

“We will be able to talk to more people about the importance of health checks and looking after themselves.

“Just about everyone you speak to has family, friends or neighbours affected by breast or prostate cancer. Early detection and early treatment gives you a better chance of survival.

“My sister is a survivor of breast cancer, my brother-in-law is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer and my sister-in-law has just had a mastectomy, so these causes are close to my heart.

“The crew will be paying all our own expenses so people know everything they donate will go direct to the causes.”

Tail End Charlie received a warm welcome aroundAustralia in 2007, with people joining the crew for a day in their own old cars or tractors.

“We hope people will look out for us and maybe hold a raffle when they know we are due in town,” Ron said.

“We’ll be on the road for 57 days so it would be great to raise $57,000.

“We also hope to encourage other people our age to get off the lounge and do more, if they can.”

The original Tail End Charlie can be seen at the Tractor Museum of WA at WhitemanPark.