I thought that it would be good to show you some of the farming history in our time on the farms in the Tichborne area. Most of the photos taken are on “loloma”.
To start on this journey, we need to talk about Horses, not tractors. Dad and Mum both talk with affection about the Clydesdales which they both grew up with. Prior to tractors, horse teams provided the power for any job required on the farm. This resulted in a totally different work pattern from what we do today.
The horses were quiet, strong and perfectly suited to pulling with their large hooves. Mum remembers, as a child, running between their legs playing ‘chasing’ games while the horses were harnessed up without fear of being stepped on. The implements they pulled were also different. Any mechanism required was ground driven. All implements had either a seat or place to stand and all of the user controls (eg. height control levers) were located nearby. So here are a few photos…
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This is a picture of William Kingham (my Great Grandfather on Dad’s side) and the family posing with pride, seated on a plough. My Grandfather Ted is one of the children. Ploughs were used to turn the ground over in an effort to kill weeds and breakup the soil in preperation for sowing seed into the ground. If the ground was too cloddy, germination of the seed would be poor. This plough had disks to work the soil.(circa 1910) |
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This is picture of Ted Kingham – my Grandfather – towing a 13 run (tyne) McCormick Deering combine. Combines were used for sowing seed into the ground. The combine lightly tilled the soil and had a ground driven gear mechanism that dropped a small amount of seed on the ground with each turn of the wheel. Its interesting to note the change in technology – 6 horses in the team instead of the 3 in the previous generation photo. Dad also told me that years after this photo was taken, that they upgraded to a really large combine – 15 run instead of the old 13 run machine!!(circa 1929) |
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It was the animals which dictated the routine of the working day. They had to be fed first thing, hooves checked and then harnessed up. They had to have feed and water breaks during the day. Dad remembers riding them into the dam in the middle of harvest in 40 degree heat for a swim. He also told me that towards the end of the day, when heading away from home that the horse team would barely pull the implement, but when turning around to face home, it was all you could do to hold them back. At the end of the day, they had to be taken home, washed down and put to bed. |
Horses were cared for with affection and are the source of many happy memories for both Mum and Dad. Horse teams were used on Loloma until the first tractor arrived in 1948. But that is another story….