a lightning strike, though rare, is incredibly powerful

found on http://b1gr1gs.tumblr.com/image/63675908581 happened in the Pilbara of Australia

the Big Lizzie, biggest tractor built in Australia, invented by frank Bottrill (invented of the pedrail system)

the below is just one of the trailers, it has two steam engines on it

above 2 images found at http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/items/766470/negative-mildura-district-victoria-1925-1935

Big Lizzie had a Blackstone single-cylinder engine that delivered 60 horsepower at 275 rpm, running on a mix of diesel and crude oil. It was cooled by water, and had an exhaust-induced airflow "radiator" that Bottril had designed. The 7 feet diameter flywheel weighed three tons, and the entire engine weighed eight tons. The tractor was 34 feet long, 11 feet  wide and 18 feet high. Big Lizzie included a blacksmithy and anvil mounted on the foredeck. The total weight was 45 tons.

Botrill's patented wheels were also used on "Big Lizzie", a huge traction engine which McDonald's built to his design in 1915. Big Lizzie could carry almost 90 tons when two trailers were attached. There were just six bearers on each wheel, compared to Bottril's earlier designs which had as many as twelve bearers. This placed more strain on the cables retaining the bearers, and had the effect of reducing the tractor's speed to one mile per hour. Big Lizzie was awkward to maneuver, with a turning radius of 200 feet.

Bottrill planned to drive Big Lizzie to the Broken Hill mines, with two pedrail-equipped wagons in tow. He left Melbourne early in 1916, taking his family with him. He traveled at a maximum speed of 1 mph, going off road where bridges were not strong enough or the road bends were too sharp

From 1920 to 1924 Bottrill worked in Red Cliffs, in the Rural City of Mildura, clearing the ground for a 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) irrigated farming settlement for World War I veterans. Up to 16 men helped attach cables to trees and stumps which Big Lizzie then hauled out.

above info from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Bottrill

She was rescued in 1971 by the Redcliffs Big Lizzie Preservation Committee who restored her and settled her in her final resting place.K.N McDonald has recently located the missing second trailer and this has now been sent to Mildura for restoration  http://www.oldengine.org/members/kennedy/mcdonald/docs/biglizziedet.htm

above photo from http://www.tractorshed.com/contents/tpic15102.htm

learned about it on http://steampunkvehicles.tumblr.com

how a bomber was salvaged by the Royal Australian Air Force Repair and Salvage Unit

found on http://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2012/12/royal-australian-air-force-repair-and.html

I just learned of Australian Hot Rodder .com... the online side of a magazine a lot like The Rodders Journal, high quality photos, clear articles, not mashed around advertising like most mags

they just finished issue 3, and you can buy the issues 1 and 2, so if you want to get started with a magaznie that is just beginning, and collect the whole set from the day they started... here's your best bet.

You can even preview the issues http://www.australianhotrodder.com.au/files/AHR-Issue01-Sneak-Peek.pdf
http://www.australianhotrodder.com.au/files/AHR-Issue02-Sneak-Peek.pdf
http://www.australianhotrodder.com.au/files/AHR-Issue03-Sneak-Peek.pdf

with stories and photos spanning the hot rod world from mild upgrades to 30's Fords, to dragsters, traditional Ts and prostreeters

http://www.australianhotrodder.com.au/

See what I mean?

Dan at Hemmings came across photos of a Doodlebug fuel tanker truck in Australia

all found on http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2013/06/18/doodlebug-down-under-baps-own-streamlined-tanker-truck-of-the-future/

Not a Camaro, it's a Holden

Holden Monaro, a car out of the ordinary

found on http://rafa4fun.blogspot.com.br

Australian muscle car museum in Queensland, just north of Brisbane

there are 102 Australian musclecars in this collection. That is rockin cool

found on http://www.carsinbarns.com the site for it is http://www.aussiemusclecarmuseum.com.au/contact-us.html

It's SummerNats in Australia, and Damien (OnFourWheels.blogspot.com) has posted galleries to share the evolution of Holdens, Fords, etc from the 50's to current models

 looks so close to a 55 Chevy, but a little smaller

the above are airbrushed cigars that from a distance, appear as the fender vents

For tons of SummerNats coverage, and all Australian cars! http://onfourwheels.blogspot.com/

If you want to browse through a summer car show in Canberra Australia, I found a website for you

you'ss be able to look at the sunkissed warm Aussie cars from where ever on the planet you are, no mattter how much snow is outside your home, see cars you've never seen before like the Armstrong Siddeley, and ponder what keeps the rest of the world from adopting the Ute as a common car model http://onfourwheels.blogspot.com/

these are just a small sample of the Street Machines in Australia... found on streetmachinemag.typepad.com/street_machine/

Check out the over the top quality and eye-candy of the Aussie pro-street and pro-touring machines at http://streetmachinemag.typepad.com/street_machine/

Have you been over to Bring A Trailer lately? Good stuff showing up there

 the seller wants 25 thou for this 1973 Ford XB Falcon

This '68 Mangusta is a 42000 mile original the ebay listing states, but has been stored a real long time. Makes me think it wasn't a good car, because someone wasted a lot of money and then never got their money's worth. I smell a rolled back odometer.
check out http://bringatrailer.com/ for all sorts of good finds, these and so many more

Stash of Aussie Ford GT's found in South Africa

during that era a whole bunch of Falcon GT parts were exported to South Africa where they were assembled into Fairmont GTs. Recently, a large haul of Fairmont GTs was unearthed and the collector is the first commentor on the article, setting the story straight
read about it http://www.ausmotive.com/2009/02/19/ford-gt-stash-uncovered-in-south-africa.html