General News
10 May, 2025
The Planet Junior Walk Behind Garden Tractor
The Planet Junior Walk Behind Garden Tractor was a curiosity at the recent Gilgandra Easter Tractor Pull.
One lady asked: “What was that thing that looked like a skeleton?”
The Planet Junior Walk Behind Garden Tractor was manufactured in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA. It is powered by a Briggs and Stratton petrol motor.
It comes with attachments for cultivating and inter-row weeding, as well as sowing small vegetable seed up to corn and bean size.
Adjustments are made by inserting different plates in the seed box.
Aubrey Chater Senior (Aub Snr), Malcolm’s grandfather, owned this planet junior from the 1930s. He used to grow onions, tomatoes, watermelons, beans and other vegetables at his market garden at ‘Yarraglen’, Gilgandra.
Aub Chater Jnr also used the Planet Junior alongside Pop.
It has now seen five generations of Chater’s - Aub Snr, Aub Jnr, Malcolm, Chris, Toby and Ernie.
For those with a technical interest- according to Nebraska test number 234 of June 1935, for non-current wheel tractors (Power Farming Aust and NZ Technical Annual 1949), the Planet Junior’s capacity was to replace one horse. It had a Maximum drawbar HP of 1.46.
It is a significant addition to Gilgandra’s historical collection and thankfully it survived the 1955 flood which washed Aub’s house down the Castlereagh River.
