[Hanno Spoelstra]

Tank sale brings out the big guns
Worldwide militaria collectors shelled out for an arsenal of war materiel write Anthony Davies
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10may06

AMID the glazed stares of rival auctioneers, Bonhams successfully sold the contents of John Belfield's private Melbourne Tank Museum two days before Anzac day.

The company continues to post good results for highly specialised auctions eschewed by rival art auction firms.
John Belfield dates his passion for collecting and restoring military vehicles to the gift of a toy tank from his mother at the age of six.

He purchased his first full-size military vehicles in the late 1950s when they were being sold off as scrap metal and were considered highly undesirable.

In the 1960s, numerous items were acquired to prevent their conversion to farm or industrial uses, but it's a theme of military collecting that values have stayed reasonably low, given the general aversion to owning items of war.

So Belfield's investment will have been modest compared with someone investing in vintage cars or antique furniture. The real money is spent on restoration, conservation and in storage of material that is far too big to fit in most suburban carports.

In terms of a long-term investment Belfield's collection has performed admirably.

Growing rapidly over nearly 50 years, the mounting numbers of tanks, trucks, guns and paraphernalia were eventually housed at Narre Warren North, outside Melbourne, in a site he developed into a small museum, intending to focus attention on Australia's contribution to the two world wars.

The collection sold for a handsome $1.47 million, with numerous items realising figures way above pre-sale estimates.

The auctioneers struggled to adequately catalogue and estimate the sale, unsurprising given the scarcity of similar material offered in this country and the limited references available.

Military equipment is also rarely marked in an obvious way with make and model number, marketing not being high on the agenda of the manufacturers who've secured profitable government contracts.

It's difficult when sitting in a large, draughty shed surrounded by dozens of over-scaled trucks and piles of green-drab machinery to accurately tell the S1HH-T from the Z11-A.

Previous auctions in Australia included smaller groups of military items in regional NSW, Western Australia, and Queensland. In 1997, the Australian War Memorial in Canberra sold a group of deaccessioned vehicles, which saw strong bidding for a large army DUKW, an amphibious jeep, and several troop transport vehicles. A B-25 bomber was sold before the auction to an American buyer for about $180,000.

Bonham's auction of the Belfield collection attracted nearly a thousand spectators, including agents for various American, English and Middle Eastern buyers.

Featuring more than 50 military vehicles including tanks, APCs, armoured cars, trucks and motorcycles, Belfield's sale also had 20 artillery pieces and a diverse range of other militaria from both world wars and the Vietnam War.

Top lots were a Churchill Mk VII tank, a Centurion main battle tank, Australian World War II prototype tanks, a Buffalo amphibious landing craft, a Saladin armoured car, a BSA M20 Solo motorcycle, a Diamond T recovery truck and a Mack tank transporter.

For those with difficult neighbours, there was a 3.7 inch heavy anti-aircraft gun, a 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun, field guns, howitzers, mortars, and an impressive display of more ordinary projectiles. The lucky buyers could supplement all this with a mobile radar unit, a mobile steam kitchen, and various powerful searchlights.

Other highlights included two cruiser tanks, an AC1 Sentinel and an AC3 Thunderbolt. The tanks were designed and built in Australia during the early part of World War II when the Australian army was short of modern tanks. Only 65 Sentinels were produced before production ceased when overseas tanks became available. The Thunderbolt was an improved version of the Sentinel but wasn't produced in quantity. This AC3 was assembled from parts collected by Mr Belfield, the only other example residing at the Australian War Memorial.

Included were two Matilda tanks, named "Frogs", fitted in Australia with flame throwers to be used in the South West Pacific during World War II.

Giles Moon of Bonhams & Goodman reflected on the importance of the highly specialised collection, pointing out the wide international interest the auction had attracted, drawing collectors and dealers from England, the Netherlands and the US.

In accordance with practice in military collecting circles, and the law, every item had been disarmed, meaning that few pieces were likely to see active use again except for demonstrations or re-enactments.

Among the more exotic buyers, Mike Stallwood of English vintage military dealers R.R Services represented someone described as a Middle Eastern crown monarch to bid on lots for a new military museum.

"The Australians reached into their pockets and all the important stuff has stayed here - especially the guns," Stallwood says.

Stallwood claims a number of the armoured vehicles had brought world record prices, including the Ferret scout car, which sold locally for $45,000 despite estimates of only $8000-10,000 - double previous world auction records.

Most of the larger items in the sale would have been purchased for low sums years ago, when a tank was just a tank and no one wanted to pay the transport fees, let alone much for the machine itself. In this respect, the investment performed astonishingly well.

An English bidder was successful in acquiring an M3A1 Stuart light tank for $45,000, and a Staghound armoured car for $62,000, despite it having no engine and a pre-sale estimate of just $15,000 to 20,000.

A World War II folding Wellbike motorcycle, used by English paratroops and highly collectable in England, where they can be fitted into a car boot and used on the farm, sold for $6200, about the going British price. An Australian-made Bren Gun Carrier made $21,500 and a World War II anti-aircraft gun sold above expectations at $34,000.

In Australia, there's a healthy and growing interest in ex-military vehicles. The most obvious sign of this is the large number of vintage Jeeps being restored here. The Jeep (for GP or general purpose vehicle) was introduced in 1941 and produced by Ford, Bantam, and Willy's.

Plenty of examples are available for sale in Australia, ranging from rough but running examples at around $6000 to concours standard restorations at close to $20,000.

Almost every mechanical and body part is available as a new reproduction from the US. The authenticity is, however, affected and despite the cost (about $30,000 for a complete car with new chassis, body and the usual hard-to-get pieces), a vehicle using mainly new components only resells for about $18,000. The market will also be smaller, as investors focus on originality rather than just authenticity.

© The Australian

Source: www.theaustralian.news.com.au