George Holmberg was thrilled to see his 1963 John Deere 4010 tractor after decades apart.
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A 1963 John Deere 4010 tractor has made an extraordinary journey home to its original owner, George Holmberg, 97, from Elmore.
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Born in 1928, George developed his passion for farming and machinery early on, having grown up around the landscape.
He bought the John Deere 4010 tractor brand new from the local Elmore dealership in 1963, putting it to work across his dry-land and mixed farming operations.
George used the tractor for about 10 years before trading it in for the John Deere 4430 in 1973.
Many years later, the 4010 found its way to a farm at Rand, NSW.
That's where vintage tractor enthusiast Vaughan Glass from Nanneella spotted it advertised and decided to add it to his collection.
“I was cruising Facebook marketplace one night and there it was and (in a) pretty sad state and (the) price was good and I thought, I’m going to buy it because there’s not a whole lot of 4010s out here,” he said.
“They only sold them in Australia for 18 months.
“I didn’t know the previous history of the tractor and I opened up this plastic bag when I got home and it had G Holmberg Elmore written all over the manuals ... and I couldn’t believe it.
“I thought, well, there’s only one G Holmberg and that’s George Holmberg,” he said.
Vaughan reached out to a member of the Holmberg family and sold the tractor back to them late last year.
The John Deere 4010 tractor before it was fixed up and returned to the Holmberg family.
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George’s son Colin Holmberg said he was gobsmacked when he learned that Vaughan had the tractor and wanted to sell it to him.
“I couldn’t believe that,” he said.
Vaughan got the tractor running and, soon after, Colin took it from there, with plans to have it restored.
Colin, along with his brother, Andrew, brought it past George’s nursing home, where he was thrilled to be reunited with his old tractor after more than five decades apart.
Brothers Andrew Holmberg and Colin Holmberg with their father, George, in front of the tractor that was returned to their family in December, 2025.
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He is considering the possibility of displaying the tractor at this year's Elmore Field Days, a fitting tribute given his father was one of the event’s founders.
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