Phil Reeves Collection auctioned
As a crowd of bidders and spectators filed into Scammells’ auction room in Norwood, South Australia to witness the clearance of the Philippe Reeves estate, there was an ambience of excited anticipation.
Auctioneer, Adrian Cummings, began by introducing Ann Lands, sister of the late Phil Reeves, who gave a short speech thanking those who’d helped sort through the various lots for the auction. The auction proceedings then continued for most of the day. During each pre-auction open day, a steady flow of prospective buyers had strolled through the carefully curated warehouse display.
As well as row after row of complete bikes, there was an armada of wooden pallets on which arrays of disassembled BSA Bantams, Hondas and Ducatis rested. The diversity and volume of the collection of motor vehicles, parts, tools and related paraphernalia was staggering. Apart from motorcycles and cars, the auction gave bidders the opportunity to purchase from an extensive range of workshop tools and equipment. The job-lot pallets of
Bantam parts were snapped up for good prices, according to auctioneer Adrian. “We had a huge amount of on-line bidding and a solid 98% sales rate across the board”, he said. “The 1915 Indian was on the market for the first time in over 70 years and sold for the $30k asking price”. Somewhat perversely, Phil’s beautiful Moto Guzzis struggled to meet preauction estimates. Likewise, his cars didn’t attract much interest from bidders.
There were over 20 complete and original BSA Bantams for sale, from the 1948 rigid-frame D1 model to the 1971 African/Australian export-only model, the Bushman. The prices ranged from $1,600 for a complete D14 to $5,400 for a beautifully restored plunger-frame D3. A 1913 Thor was passed in, but Scammells will be including it in their August motoring auction (see separate story page 86). ■