Historical artefacts to go under the hammer at Hobart auction house
An array of fascinating and highly coveted historical artefacts will be up for grabs at a Hobart auction house this week, including a sword believed to have been carried by a guard at Port Arthur.
Tasmania
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An original photo of the last known Tasmanian tiger and an extensive collection of items and memorabilia belonging to a Tasmanian World War I soldier are just some of the fascinating and highly coveted artefacts set to go under the hammer at a special auction in Hobart this week.
Gowans Auctions will hold a special antique, militaria and fine art auction from Wednesday, June 26, selling items on behalf of a range of private vendors.
Sure to attract significant interest from collectors, the auction will feature historic lots including a cutlass believed to have been carried by a guard at the Port Arthur penal settlement in the 1800s, a Japanese sword dating back to World War II, a pith helmet worn at Gallipoli by 2nd Lieutenant Stanley Perry, and a collection of predominantly Tasmanian pottery crafted by such luminaries as Violet Mace, John Campbell, and McHugh.
Gowans co-owner Tim Burt said one of the “perks” of his job was having the privilege of handling pieces of Tasmanian history and helping to “keep it circulating”.
“Hopefully, it stays in Tasmania, too, from the buyer’s perspective. Certain things obviously do go out of the state. But it’s obviously pretty important that Tasmania gets to keep a lot of its heritage in the state,” he said.
A photograph of the last male thylacine in captivity at Beaumaris Zoo, taken by Hobart photographer Benjamin Sheppard, will be up for grabs, stamped by the photographer himself.
Mr Burt said this was significant because it proved that “it’s been done by the man himself”.
Perhaps the most striking component of the auction is a collection dedicated to a single Tasmanian soldier who served in the First World War. In a cabinet topped with a portrait of the man is housed a wealth of his own personal material: war medals, two-up pennies, photo albums, diaries, letters, his razor and pocket watch, and much more.
Gowans auctioneer Scott Seymour said the collection represented “this man’s life”.
“I’ve done a lot of volunteer work up at the Army Museum [of Tasmania] and I don’t think even they’ve got a collection that big dedicated to one soldier,” he said.
Mr Seymour said the auction house had recently seen an influx of older collectors wanting to sell some of their items.
“It seems to be that lately we’ve had a lot of people who have been collectors all their life and they’re getting elderly now … and a lot of their kids and family aren’t interested in history,” he said.
“They want to sell it because if they pass away and it’s left to the kids, they’re not going to know the worth.”
On-site inspections open on Wednesday at 9am and can be arranged by appointment. Online absentee bids can also be made at gowansauctions.com.au.
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Originally published as Historical artefacts to go under the hammer at Hobart auction house
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