Neither of us were at the auction, we were both at the Pukekohe swap meet. If you went and have some feedback, let us know by using our contact form. You’ll need to be logged in to leave a message. Cheers, Knobsta
Where: Art and Object, 3 Abbey St, Newton, Auckland.
When: Saturday 6th March 2010.
Time: 12.00 Midday.
Contact: +64 9 354 4646.
Update – Knobsta went along today wiv ‘is clickityclack and took a few photos, and what a fine job he did. So read on …
I met Pat Newman in the late 1970s and soon learnt that he was a collector of things. This auction is a testament to his magpie tendencies with over 800 lots going up against the hammer. The majority of items are vintage jewellery, furniture and Maori artefacts but there are 47 lots of motorcycle bits. These range from 1920s to 1970s and the descriptions are not that great, eg Lot 849 is 4 crankcases (could be anything). However there are some items that prick the nose of an old hoarder like myself, for example –
Lot 827 is a 1927/28 Norton 500 single advertised as a good project valued at $2000~$3000. It is complete although not original and looks as if it will go,
Lot 836 Early V Twin Special (not sure what this is but must be worth a look),
Lot 837 Velo Bradshaw special with a rare Bradshaw motorcycle engine (engine maker Granville Bradshaw was a very interesting character although a tad nutty),
Lot 841 Early Harley Davidson Parts including 1/2 a fuel tank, front guard and various parts,
The most interesting would be Lot 828 Norton V Twin Special circa 1930s. This was Pats teaser as he said that it was a rare Norton V twin, in fact it was so rare that it wasnt even mentioned in any of the Norton history books. People were truly amazed that such a machine had found its way to New Zealands shores however in truth when I saw it it turned out to be a Royal Enfield K 990 cc or KX 1140cc V twin engine with the Enfield embossing on the timing cover ground off and Norton very nicely engraved in its place. You could do that when you are a skilled jeweller/engraver. Sly old dog, but it did raise a few eyebrows.
So if you think that there might be a bargain to be had and live local scoot along for a look. As with all auctions absentee bidding and phone bidding are available if there is something that you would like but cannot make it. The registration forms are at the end of the online cataloue.
It is short notice but viewing is available tomorrow (Friday) 9am ~ 5am with limited viewing on Saturday before the start of the auction. Knobsta said that he is going to pay a visit tomorrow and hopes to get some photos of things of interest so stay tuned.
To see the whole 48 page catalogue click here. It is a 5M PDF file so you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader. The motorcycle bits are on pages 38 and 39.
An interesting selection. Not everything was photographed as Knobsta said the room lighting was a challenge however Lot 836 appears to be another Pat special with a Howard rotary hoe v twin engine fitted. And Pat definitely had a passion for Royal Enfield (eewww!!) as a lot of the unclarified parts are 1940s~1950s RE.
As the photos will testify Pat certainly collected a wide range of bits. But then if it wasn’t for people like him a lot of this sort of stuff would have been buried in landfills long ago making it our loss.
And finally a round of applause for the Knobsta effort. A grand job. Thanks.