David Jones collection reaches almost $2 million at auction

The auction of classic cars and automotive-themed items from the collection of the late David Jones AO OBE KstJ saw a 100 per cent clearance rate, with sales totalling almost $2 million. The auction, conducted by Donington Auctions & Sales, saw more than 1,000 items from Jones’s ‘Cremorne Garage’ go under the hammer, with a highly desirable Ferrari leading the way.

The auction was so large, it was conducted in two parts, with 550 lots that included cars and other big-ticket items auctioned live on Saturday, 12 July. The other 601 lots were offered in a timed online auction that ran from 1 to 13 July.

Jones, a well-known Melbourne businessman and philanthropist, was a senior executive at Tattersalls, a Melbourne City Councilor, Executive Director of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and past President of the Melbourne Cricket Club. Born in New Zealand, Jones spent his childhood in Melbourne and completed his education in the US before returning to Melbourne.

A love of cars, first expressed with an MG TF, expanded to include premium offerings from Rolls-Royce and Bentley. This led Jones to become the founding Chairman of the Sir Henry Royce Foundation and an active member of the Rolls-Royce Owners Club.

Rolls-Royces owned by Jones included examples of the Phantom II, Twenty, Silver Dawn and Silver Ghost. Jones’s standing amongst the global Rolls-Royce community saw him entrusted with the 1907 ‘AX 201’ 40/50hp – the original Silver Ghost – when it was shipped to Australia in 1984 for display at the Melbourne Motor Show and other events.

Jones also had a passion for Italian cars, owning an Alfa Romeo 6C 1750, Ferrari 330 GTC and a 246 GT Dino, the latter of which was offered in the July auction.

Of the broader collection, Jones had spent almost 40 years accumulating it, with highlights including rare fuel bowsers and a multitude of signage and collectables for brands like Castrol, Shell, Michelin, Mobil, Dunlop and many others.

In the live auction conducted on 12 July, the 1972 Ferrari 246 GT led proceedings. This factory RHD car had been delivered new to the UK and was originally finished in light green metallic with a beige leather interior. Imported to Australia in 1978, the car was repainted red in 1982 and acquired by Jones in 1987.

While the Ferrari did have two cosmetic restorations (the most recent in 2014) under Jones’s ownership, it wasn’t a trailer queen, with participation in several events, including the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, Motorclassica, and Ferrari club activities. Still in very good condition at the time of auction, and with mileage estimated at 61,000 (service records and odometer don’t match), the condition and rarity of this car saw it hammer for $760,000, which was just under the low estimate.

The Victorian ‘6-666’ number plates worn by the 264 GT under Jones’s ownership attracted as much attention as the car. This combination, first issued in 1913, led to Jones’s Ferrari being nicknamed ‘The Red Devil’. While the Ferrari fell just short of its pre-auction estimate, the plates exceeded their $400,000 high estimate to sell for $425,000, with rights to display.

The second car in the auction, a 1955 MG TF 1500, was another of Jones’s long-term possessions, having being purchased from a fellow MG Car Club member in 1998. Being a 1955 car, this example came from the tail end of TF production and is one of 3,400 fitted with the more powerful 1466cc engine, whereas TF production with the older 1250cc engine reached 6,200.

Fully restored under Jones’s ownership, the TF won its class in MG Car Club concours events in 2002, 2003 and 2004. A year later, it ferried Mark Webber around the Albert Park grand prix circuit for the driver’s parade at the 2005 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

More recent restorative work included a brake system overhaul, new tie-rod end boots and servicing of the front suspension.

Finished in burgundy with a taupe hood and interior, Jones’s TF 1500 sold for $46,000.

Of the collectables, the top price was achieved by a C1923 Wayne Model 492 ‘Corinthian’ fuel bowser with hand crank and 5-gallon glass bowl. Restored and finished in Shell livery, with working illumination, a Wayne Model 492 is one of the most collectable of classic petrol bowsers, which explains why it sold for an incredible $52,000 against an estimate of $20,000+.

Another C1920 petrol bowser, also restored in Shell livery, but of unknown origin, sold for $6,000. A restored, Australian-made ‘Stockman’ bowser in Vacuum Oil Company livery sold for $18,000. Two Gilbert & Barker (aka Gilbarco) bowsers, one C1930s example in Plume livery and the other in Atlantic livery, sold for $5,400 and $4,600, respectively.

Tin signs for the likes of Texaco, Plume, Atlantic, Agip, Castrol and C.O.R. did well, most selling for more than $1,000 each. Topping this group was a C1930s Dunlop vertical sign that made $24,000, while a ‘Mobilubrication’ service sign sold for $15,000. A “matching pair” of left- and right-facing Mobile Pegasus signs sold for $9,000 and $12,500, respectively.

Other notable results included $10,200 for a Rolls-Royce child’s pedal car. With a timber frame, aluminium body and folding canvas hood, this kid-size classic also featured a leather-trimmed interior and working headlights. A large-scale (53cm high) reproduction of the Rolls-Royce ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ radiator mascot sold for $3,800. A pair of restored C1930s Michelin air compressors on trolleys sold for $10,000 and $7,600, respectively, while a framed reproduction of an early Michelin poster sold for $8,600.

A mosaic Ferrari sign sold for $2,400, and a Shell highboy oil dispenser made $910, while a unique mirrored sign for G.M. Jackson & Co., the Tasmanian agents for several car brands, sold for $5,800.

In total, more than $1.85 million was realised from the David Jones auction – with the 100 per cent clearance rate a remarkable result.

“A collection of such quality and diversity is unlikely to ever be replicated, so we were delighted to have been chosen by Mr Jones’s family to handle this important sale,” said Donington Auctions’ Robert Richards.

“Interest in this amazing collection came both internationally and from across the country, and the strong prices achieved reflected the items’ rarity and provenance.

“For many collectors, this was their only chance to buy items with such heritage that are so rarely found.”

For more details, go to: doningtonauctions.com.au

All prices exclude buyer’s premium.