Newdegate Machinery Field Days: Woodanilling and Pingrup farmers scoop recycled art prizes

From native flora and fauna to vintage farming machinery, the inaugural Recycled Art Sculpture Competition attracted a mixed bag of entries at the Newdegate Machinery Field Days. But it was Woodanilling farmers Morris and Lesley Trimming who claimed first place and $2500 for their stunning depiction of the quintessentially Australian grass tree. The perfectly executed piece took the couple about 30 hours to craft from components including a kilometre of fence wire, a 1920s McKay seeder, an oil barrel and “a bit of imagination”. “It was all sourced from the farm,” Mr Trimming said. “I’ve done eight of them now. This is just a different one — I don’t know why I put it in a square box, I have no idea.” With Mr and Mrs Trimming now in semi-retirement, their 32-year-old son Sam manages the 1000ha family farm where they grow barley, oats, lupins and canola and run about 3000 Merino and cross breed sheep. This has given the couple more time for creative pursuits such as blacksmithing and metal art, for which they have become well-known locally. “We’ve almost finished making a blacksmith shop on the farm, so we work out of there now,” Mr Trimming said. “We don’t keep anything we make at home. We haven’t got a webpage or a business name or anything, but we sell it in local shops and put a bit up for charity auctions and that sort of thing.” Mr Trimming has no formal blacksmithing training, preferring to hone his skills with the “pick it up as you go along” approach over the past five years. While the 62-year-old was “happy to have a win”, his main motivation for entering the competition was to support a new event. Competition organiser Greta Wolzak said the recycled art concept was inspired by events such as Perth’s Sculptures By The Sea. Each of the pieces, which had to be made from 65 per cent recycled materials, was displayed along a sculpture trail sponsored by Kulin Community Bank. Second place went to Pingrup farmer Dustin Harris, who pocketed $1000 for a scrap metal tractor dubbed Old Timer. The time-poor Mr Harris — who is flat out managing a 9000ha broadacre farm 15km south of Pingrup — spent four hours working on the impressive piece. “Me, my partner and her mum and the kids just rustled through the bush (on the farm) looking for old cogs and tools and whatever bits and bobs we could find,” he said. “The chassis of the tractor is a real old school big spanner, the bonnet is an old G clamp, then I put the old spring seat in there and some old sprockets are the wheels. “I wanted a bit more detail to it because it looked a bit plain, so I built an old school tagalong harvester for the back of it.” Mr Harris’ partner Ebony, who encouraged him to enter the competition, also took home a prize after winning the small painting award in the Community Art Competition. “She’s been doing art all her life and this is her first winning piece, so that was great for her to win, and then for me also to come in second was bloody fantastic,” he said. The People’s Choice Winner of the Newdegate Machinery Field Days sculpture competition went to the Rintoul family, who created a crocodile with a controversial twist. After Newdegate Lions trumped rival town Lake Grace Bombers in the Ongerup Football Association League and Junior grand final, the family depicted a Lake Grace footballer being eaten by the creature. Titled “Dear LG Bombers, it’s not just Lions you need to be afraid of”, the green sculpture drew laughs from locals and visiting Lake Grace field day goers. Which was incredibly intentional, according to Caitlyn Rintoul who was the brainchild behind the piece and is also a journalist at The West Australian. “We had created the crocodile already but then modified it at the last minute to play into the fact that the local league football team had dominated rival town Lake Grace in the grand final,” Rintoul said. “I knew it would be a bit of a laugh for people and played into the long-time sporting rivalry that our two towns share in good faith. I’m glad it was good entertainment for people. “As in most country communities, a win in the local footy competition always brings the community together in good spirits.”