THE FABULOUS ANLABY AUCTION

Collector and  researcher , Gary  Davies , of   Magnetic Island , with  the  footscraper  he  bought   at  the grand  1978  Dutton   estate  contents  sale .

 

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Years  after  the auction , dealers  and collectors  spoke in  awe  about  the  event , the   Duttons  said  to be  regarded  as  South Australian  royalty  in  their  heyday .   Francis  Dutton  made  a  fortune  in mining  , became  the  SA Premier and  later  the  state’s Agent –General  in London.

The   day  of  the  auction  ,  Anlaby ,  with  its  elegant , long  driveway,  large courtyard  surrounded  by numerous buildings ,  a   folly overlooking the  tennis court   which  served both as a  grandstand  and   a  water tower,   had  shrunk  to  a small   holding .  Professor    Geoffrey  Dutton,    born   in 1928 ,   had    literary and  publishing interests  and  upset  the  conservative Adelaide Club with his republican views . He   resorted  to   pig  farming  in  a  vain  and  desperate   bid  to  keep  the  estate  going .  

 

During  his  time  running  Anlaby   literary and artistic  guests included  Patrick White,  Yevtoshenko ,  Max Harris ,  Sidney Nolan  and   John  Olsen.

Buyers came  from many  parts of Australia  for  the closed  circuit  television  auction , staged in  a large tent .   Gary , a secondhand  dealer ,  drove  to  the  property   early ,  eager to  have   a   close  look  at  what  was  offering .

 

 By  Peter  Simon

 

 He  noticed that   there  were   trucks  unloading  old wares and  suspected   the  auction  was  being “ padded  out ” -  a common activity  in  Adelaide (and  elsewhere ) -  to cash in  on  well attended   sales  . Because of  this  , Gary  said  he closely studied  the printed catalogue  and  checked ,  as  much  as  possible , that  items  he  was   interested  in  came from  the estate .  As  mentioned  earlier  in  Little Darwin ,  Gary, keen on Australian literature, had  taken  a  copy of  Geoffrey Dutton’s  poems   to  Anlaby  and  got  him  to autograph  it  for  him.  

 

Like so many in  the big crowd , Gary and his wife  explored  the  sprawling  estate , a  woman ,  believed to  be  Geoffrey Dutton’s wife , the  author Ninette ,  came  up  and  said  they  were  in an area  not open to the  public .  The   huge  library , built  up  over the years ,  had already been  sold  to  a  prominent  bookdealer, thought  to  be  from   Melbourne.  

ADELAIDE -DARWIN  FIRST

Items of   interest  included model yachts  . One  of  the  unusual   items  offered was  a   radiator and   other spare  parts  for  the 25hp , four cylinder , Talbot  car   driven  from  Adelaide  to  Darwin    by  Harry Dutton-Geoffrey’s father - and Murray Aunger in  1908.  Aboriginal artefacts  said to have  been given  to the  two pioneers on the Darwin trip were  included  in  the  auction .

 

In  what  had  been an  office , Gary  bought  the  paper  files , ephemera. This   included  a circa 1890s , large leather bound   stationery sample catalogue  with  pages bearing watermarks and  envelopes - described as a beautiful work of art  by Gary . On a  spike was a cluster of  paperwork , some addressed to Squire Dutton, related to stumpjump  ploughs , steam engines , brochure  after  brochure , receipts  with  duty stamps attached  , correspondence .

A wonderful  buy , for a mere  six  to eight dollars each, were  a quantity of  shearers  forms,   two or  three metres long , like pews , each  branded  H. R. Dutton  on  the base .  When  the  Dutton  empire was riding the  golden fleece  boom  it took  seven  months for a  large team of shearers  to clip   some 70,000 sheep .

 

Other purchases included  the  billiard  cue  holder, above , now used  as  an  umbrella  and walking stick stand  in the Davis household  on  Magnetic Island , where they run a nursery and landscaping  business ;  the  small  table  is  also  from   Anlaby. 

When  Gary  was  living  in  Bordertown , SA , the National Trust  bought  some of  the shearers  forms and  other  items from  the  Anlaby auction.

 

COLONIAL   GUNBOAT  PHOTOGRAPH 

 

Another  person who  attended  the   auction  is  former  Melbourne and  Adelaide  antique dealer , Alan Jones , who recently  moved  from   Malaysia to  Ireland  with  his  wife , Pat.  His Adelaide business, at Largs,   went under the deceptive  name , The Junkery . An  avid collector , he is a man of  many skills  and  even  turned  wire coat  hangers  into   model  aeroplanes .

 

Over the phone from Ireland , he recalled  the   Anlaby  sale .  A  great  buy , he said ,  had  been  a  Huon Pine  desk  with   lift   up  leather  panels .  Being  a  keen collector  of   nautical  items ,  he  also bought a  photograph  which  appeared to  be  a  bridal  party  posing  against  the colonial  South Australian  gunboat , Protector, skippered at one stage  by Captain Creswell,  father of  the  Royal Australian Navy.  In 1900  the  Protector headed for  the  Boxer  Rebellion  in   China ,  but  arrived   after  the  siege . During WWII the vessel  was  recquisitioned  by the  US Army  and on a  voyage to  New Guinea was damaged in a collision  with a tug at Gladstone  and  ended up  a  rusting  hulk  on Queensland's  Heron Island , still  visible  today.

As  a result of  the  Dutton   fame ,  Alan  said he was able to readily  sell  anything  he  bought  from  the  auction .

 

UNUSUAL  ANLABY    FINDS

 

This  writer  and  his  wife  visited  Anlaby  several  times  in the l980s  and  met  its then owners , Dutchman Hans  Alders and his  wife, Gill, from  Echuca, Victoria , who put  much time  and effort into restoring  the glory of  the homestead , turning  it  into  a  bed and  breakfast .

 

They  brought  with  them  from  Echuca  an impressive collection  of early horse drawn  vehicles, including  a  sombre, glass  sided  hearse , complete with  black plumes,  a  Cobb and Co. coach .  Gill threw herself  into  restoring the massive rose gardens which had  made Anlaby famous worldwide , there  being  14 gardeners at  the  time .

 

In  his  autobiographical , Out In The Open , Geoffrey  Dutton wrote  that his  mother  had a  gun with  which she shot  rosellas attacking  her  roses . While entertaining Lady Spencer,  whose  son , John  Althorp , Princess Diana's father , working as an ADC  at Government House in Adelaide,   she  shot  a  bird on the wing   which  fell into the   guest's  teacup. Dutton said his mother    complained  that  between  rats , rosellas   and   the Labor Party  it  was difficult to get a  decent rose  to grow.

As I walked  about  Anlaby , in an empty  building running off the courtyard , hanging  from  a  nail  was  an early Glass  car tyre  , with an attached  faded  note  saying  it  was used on  the  run  from  Adelaide  to  Darwin .

 

The Alders   asked  me  to keep an eye out for anything  related to  Anlaby, Gill especially  interested   in  books on  old roses.  A 1935 souvenir  booklet  I  bought at  auction  stated that  in the nearby   town of Eudunda , Francis Dutton had  been known locally as “the Squire.”

 

 While rummaging through  a jumble of books in a Port Adelaide secondhand shop , I found  a 1903  revised   and enlarged  edition  of the  Poems of Henry Clarence  Kendall , containing  a Henry Dutton bookplate, Geoffrey  Dutton’s paternal  grandfather.

 

Fossicking  through  an  op shop in Angaston I  came  across several boxes of paperbacks , mainly  Sun Books, and  some letters  from Geoffrey Dutton , co-founder of  the publishing house ,  all of  which I  bought . One  of  the letters related to the  break up in the early 1980s  between Dutton  and his  wife , renowned enameller, artist and broadcaster  Ninette,  greatly interested in  gardens  and  wildflowers . After living  in Canberra for a time , she moved to the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.

 There was a  copy of Geoffrey  Dutton’s book, published by Penguin/Viking, about  Australian  literature –Snow on the Saltbush –the cover of  which  was  by artist John Olsen, who had signed  the  title  page.  

 

One  misty July when my  wife and  I  visited  Anlaby  it presented  an English  vista  with  jonquils , paper whites  and  snowdrops  in  profusion. We also went to  a nearby  old church  built  as a memorial to Helen Elizabeth Dutton  and  16 - year - old  Ethel  Dutton, the  latter having  been drowned  at  Granite Island , Victor Harbour , after being swept  into the sea  by  a  large  wave  in  1892.