Right now, we're sitting on our property.
This is actually an old railway line.
And we've got a Centurion bridge-laying bridge right above my head.
(What are the different kinds of Centurion tanks?)
The Centurion tank is what we consider a medium battle tank.
It actually weighs 52 tonne in total.
The turret alone weighs about 20 ton.
It was actually the first turret in the world to have a single casting.
And the reason they did that is to avoid
what they call grain boundary, so, if it gets hit by a projectile,
it doesn't have as many weaknesses as something that's welded together.
Our Centurion tank that we have here has three machine guns on board.
So, we've got a 30 caliber machine gun,
which is mounted on the mantlet cover at the front.
And it's operated by the gunner; he has foot pedals
which are very much like sewing machine foot pedals.
Then, there's a second 30 cal machine gun,
which is mounted up on the cupola on the top section.
And the commander can fire that through a remote.
So, he actually can keep his head down
and fire that 30 cal machine gun from the top.
And then, the third machine gun is a 50 caliber machine gun,
which is also operated by the gunner with another foot pedal.
It was mainly used as a ranging gun, so to check range
for the main gun, which is a 20 pound main gun.
In Vietnam, they primarily used the canister round,
which was not only used for infantry, but clearing jungle canopies
as they went through with the Centurion.
(Are there any interesting facts about the tank's appearance?)
The tank that we have here, the Centurion tank, it's a Mk V-II,
so five of the British upgrades, and two of the Australian upgrades.
Interestingly, a lot of the things that are on it at the moment
were actually removed in Vietnam for simple use purposes.
So, when they were traveling through jungle canopies,
the smoke grenade dischargers on the side
tended to catch all the jungle canopy and the vines.
So, they actually removed those.
They've been put back on.
So, the tank came returned and went back into service in the Australian army.
All 51 tanks that served in Vietnam did return and were reused.
Coming back to the differences of our tank here, it's up-armored.
So, if you see another Centurion tank, you may see
that it doesn't have the same weld patterns on the front of the tank and the top,
'cause it's got thicker armor.
Very distinctively, the way the tank's designed
was quite a big advancement, so the turret being
primarily at the front, motor behind, driver in the front,
and then your three occupants inside,
which has pretty much dictated, all larger tanks,
how they're designed today.
(Where has the Centurion tank served, and what is its history?)
They're originally built in the UK.
And we were - Australia was the first order of Centurion tanks,
but they actually - our order got sent to Korea,
where there was a conflict in Korea at the time.
So, Centurions were first used there.
And then, our order of Centurions turned up not long after that,
and were only in Australia,
they never left our country until the Vietnam conflict.
So, that was in the mid-60's, and they served there for,
I think, three or four years over in Vietnam.
And then returned back to Australia.
The tanks were then upgraded and still used
in the Australian army 'til 1979.
Our Centurion was hit by two land mines.
The first one actually damaged the track so severely and the final drive.
They were able to repair the final drive on-site.
So, that was the first hit that it had,
which was a close call for the occupants inside.
The second land mine strike actually hit
in the middle of the hull underneath and split the hull so badly
that the tank was deemed beyond economic repair
and sent back to Australia for repair at that point.
(How much does it cost to buy a tank?)
Cheapest I've ever seen one for sale is about $25,000,
but it had no internals: no motor, no gearbox.
And then, the most expensive, up to about $150,000,
although the bridge that we're sitting under at the moment
is the last remaining bridge-laying tank left in the world.
And the price goes up from there when tanks become very rare.
I guess what I didn't realize was, you've got the initial
purchase price of the tank, but then you have the maintenance,
the ongoing maintenance, and the fuel costs,
and then the parts and the repairs.
So, I find that it's a 5-to-1 ratio.
I can do a one hour of driving equals five hours of maintenance.
So, the thought in my head of a tank being indestructible
and being able to just drive it in the field for a whole weekend
without worrying was soon doused by the first $300 fuel bill
after 45 minutes of driving.
(Why did you want a Centurion tank in particular?)
I'd always wanted to own a tank,
a Centurion tank, since I was six years old.
And my parents actually bought me a remote control tank
which resembles the Centurion very closely.
And so, it was always my goal, my end goal,
to find something like that remote control tank, which I still have.
To experience what it's like to actually drive
one of the tanks that served is quite humbling, actually.
I have a lot of respect for the people who drove them
when they were being shot at, not just for pleasure like I do.
(How many passengers per year do you take?)
We're booked with tank rides now in the Centurion tanks,
whether it be that one or one of the other Centurions that we have,
and we've got every weekend booked for a month in advance.
And we've been doing it for two years now.
So, usually four rides per day, and four teams per group.
And I guess what people don't realize is,
it's really cool to have a ride in the tanks, as well.
But it's equally as interesting to hear the history.
And I'm very passionate about it.
So, people seem to respond to that quite well.
(What are some of the most interesting things you have done with the tank?)
We had a tank wedding just last weekend,
which was the first one that we've done.
I never would have thought that we'd be doing that.
I mean, we've had hen's parties, as well, buck's parties.
Hens was really interesting.
They seemed to get into it more than the guys sometimes.
Obviously, lots of car crushing.
And then, everyone from three year olds up to 84 year olds
have been on board the tank, as well, for rides.
So, yeah, who'd have thought, just like me,
I never realized that it was going to be like this.
They don't realize that it's
you know, it's quite interesting to see the
you know, these machines, and to understand
what the people were like that served in them, as well.