Sought-after pieces at Hospice Whanganui’s charity auction

Kelly Scarrow, retail coordinator, Whanganui Hospice, with Stephen Hampson, cataloguer, and auctioneer Brian Hayward.

Hospice Whanganui will be having an Antique and Collectables Auction on Sunday, October 15, at 10.30am, with viewing on Saturday, October 14, from 10am-2pm.

“It will be our major fundraiser for the year and we are hoping that the eclectic mix of items within the catalogue will generate a lot of interest, and in turn, money raised for our organisation,” says Kelly Scarrow, retail coordinator, Whanganui Hospice.

“There will be something for everyone, from Crown Lynn swans to vintage comics, to jewellery through to art and so much more.

“We are still accepting items for the auction, so if you have been looking for a meaningful way to support Hospice, and you have an item that you would like to donate that you feel could be well suited, please phone me on 0273042126.

“Or pop into one of our op shops (Gonville, Whanganui East and Boutique, in the town centre) to have a chat, or people can take items to the Whanganui Hospice facility in Virginia Rd.

“Hospice Whanganui relies heavily on our community to raise funds to allow us to continue to provide free palliative care to patients and their whānau in our community.

“Our service currently has 140 patients which is a significant increase from this time last year, so raising funds through events like this is critical to bridge the gap between costs and government funding,” said Scarrow.

Auctioneer Brian Hayward will be volunteering his time for this auction, for the third time.

“There is a wonderful array of donated goods here, up for auction - antiques, collectables, and some nice sought-after pieces,” said Brian. “That should generate quite a bit of interest.”

Stephen Hampson is volunteering to catalogue the Hospice auction.

“It’s been an interesting ride, cataloguing the entries to date,” he said. “There’s a huge variety of items, some really rare ones. I hope there will be a surprise at the auction.”

Tickets for fundraising flights in "Faith in Australia", piloted by Captain Charles Ulm in 1933.

A notable entry is three tickets for fundraising flights in “Faith in Australia”, piloted by Captain Charles Ulm in 1933. He was famous as being the co-pilot on many of Charles Kingsford Smith’s record-breaking flights. In 1933 he flew from Richmond in Sydney to New Plymouth.

A book, also in the auction, about Kingsford Smith, describes how Ulm partnered with Kingsford Smith in achieving a number of aviation firsts, serving as Kingsford Smith’s co-pilot on the first transpacific flight and the first flight between Australia and New Zealand. He and two others disappeared near Hawaii in 1934 while undertaking a test flight for air service between Australia and the United States.

An excerpt from The Wanganui Story by M. J. G Smart and A. P. Bate states: “Wanganui was an air-minded city and in 1929 the Aero Club was formed. Beginning with limited means, it could do little at first beyond encouraging visiting airmen and searching for suitable landing grounds, as for the flying visit of Charles Kingsford Smith on September 23, 1928 which had stimulated some of the enthusiasts into forming the Aero Club.”