Hawaiian Ride for Youth 2025 visits Horsepower Highway
The riders on the Wheatbelt peloton of the Hawaiian Ride for Youth once again travelled the Horsepower Highway and stopped on their journey to visit the Hawaiian Ride for Youth tractor and connect with the community in Gnowangerup.
The riders joined members of the community for an event and lunch, to reflect on the story of the tractor and celebrate its legacy.
The ‘Ride for Youth’ tractor was an initiative of Craig Docherty, Jarod Stone and Ben Stubbs, members of the 2022 Hawaiian Ride for Youth Wheatbelt peloton that rode along the Horsepower Highway, on the way from Albany to Perth.
With the support of the Horsepower Highway Committee and local farmers Scott and Lisa Thompson, they identified a location for the tractor on the Thompson’s Broomehill farm at the corner of Broomehill-Gnowangerup Rd and Nardlah Rd.
The installation was a community effort with the tractor donated by the Wards, a local farming family, and restoration work undertaken by Gnowangerup local, John Way. The artwork was completed by Jerome Davenport, a widely regarded public artist.
Launched during the 2023 Hawaiian Ride for Youth, the tractor is named ‘Paul’ in memory of their friend Paul Perrott, who died by suicide in 1998 – aged 28,
The tractor creates a visible ride reminder to the local community and regional visitors of the vulnerability of young people in the regions and of the Youth Focus services delivered in the Great Southern to support young people.
After spending time with the community at the Hawaiian Ride for Youth tractor, the riders continued on to Katanning Senior High School to host a school presentation, and finish their second full day of the journey back to Perth.
The Horsepower Highway is a tourist trail focused on maintaining life and vitality in the Gnowangerup town and surrounds. Starting 5km south of Broomehill, the trail of vintage and quirky tractors follows the sealed Broomehill-Gnowangerup Rd all the way through Gnowangerup township, passing through open farmland along the way, to the Stirling Range National Park.