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Case IH 175th Anniversary Competition Winner Announced

Release Date: 19 Aug 2017
Case IH Competition Winners, the Gamble family
There was no shortage of inspiring stories for the Case IH 175 year anniversary competition, but it was the tale of a 1947 Farmall H and a hard-working Timaru farming family that stuck in the minds of competition judges.

In August, Case IH New Zealand Product Specialist, James Perry, and National Sales Manager, David Silk, delivered a brand new Farmall 50B to Nigel Gamble and his family, after their entry was chosen as the winner.

The competition was part of Case IH’s 175th anniversary celebrations, with entrants being asked to share a photo and story about what made their Case IH tractor special. Case IH New Zealand Operations Manager Tim Fanning said that he hoped the competition would be a fun way to share with customers the proud history and heritage of Case IH in New Zealand.

“Nigel’s entry ticked all the boxes. It was a moving story, supported by a beautiful shot of his family and his restored Farmall H” said Fanning.

The old Farmall has played a meaningful role for the Gamble family. Nigel’s Grandfather bought the tractor new in 1947. “I never got to meet my grandfather as he passed away in 1955 when my mother was only seven. When he passed on he left my grandmother with five children and a farm to run without her husband. The only times my mother has ever talked about her father have been connected with the tractor.”

Gamble’s uncle, only 14 when his father died, left school to take on the farm and relied on the Farmall H as the farm’s main work tractor. Many years later, when Nigel took ownership of the tractor, it had been out of use for nearly 20 years and he spent five years meticulously restoring it.

Gamble’s entry included a photo of his mother, aunt and uncles, who were just children when it was first purchased, standing in front of the beautifully repaired tractor.

With the help of Cochranes of Canterbury, Timaru, Perry and Silk recently delivered the new tractor to Gamble and his family.

“Getting to meet Nigel, it became clear that we’d chosen a really deserving winner. He and his family are genuinely lovely people. They even put on morning tea for us. And it’s also great to know that the family are excited to put the new Farmall to work straight away. It’ll be helping with projects on the family lifestyle block as well as in Nigel’s contracting business” said Perry.

The Gamble’s weren’t the only winners, however. “People might not believe us but, hand on heart, we received exactly 175 entries. Deliberations were tough. Very tough. In the end, we were so impressed by the entries that we decided to add in a couple of extra categories and a few extra prizes”, said Fanning.

Additional categories winners were:
  • Runner up story (Simpson family, for their story about “Hungry”, the family’s old International B414)
  • Best photo (from Grain and Food in Hamilton)
  • Most impressive gear (From Bruce Nickle, with his International Harvester 6788 2+2 tractor – the only one of its kind in New Zealand)
PALMERSTON NORTH (19th August 2017)
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