Joh’s items protected by govt

THE auctioneers selling off memorabilia owned by Sir Joh and Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen have been informed by the Australian Government the items might not be allowed to leave Australia as they could be protected objects.

Lloyds Auctions received the contact from the Australian Government at the weekend.

Chief operations officer Lee Hames said he commended the government’s stance on protecting Australian history.

“The items in this auction tell many important stories about Australia’s history and in particularly Queensland’s growth and how it came to be the state it is today, so we applaud the government for reaching out to protect its history,” he said.

The online auction for the estate will end tonight.

It features more than 800 items with no reserve.

There have been thousands of bids already with interest from all over the country and abroad, including New Zealand where Sir Joh was born.

In a final clean-up of the estate at the weekend, Sir Joh’s iconic original stetson Swagger hat was uncovered and added to the auction along with Lady Flo’s black leather Gucci bag and White Gold Mikimoto Pearl earrings.

Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen was Queensland’s longest-serving premier, and his wife Lady Flo served as a Queensland senator for 12 years.

“As a family, we have decided to allow the sale of Dad and Mum’s collection which has been in their home at Bethany for many years,” a family spokesperson said.

“We are sure those who acquire items from this collection will honour and treasure them

This Chair’s summary provides an overview of the committee meeting regarding the Helidon to Calvert (H2C) and the Gowrie to Helidon (G2H) projects. This summary is a precursor to the committee meeting minutes, which will be published on the Inland Rail website following preparation and endorsement by the committee Chair.

The meeting was chaired by Simon Warner and attended by 12 of the 14 local community representatives, appointed as members of the committee. Two apologies were made by committee members.

A total of 25 observers attended the meeting. Before the official meeting took place, representatives from the Office of the Coordinator General (OCG) addressed, via video conference, the committee and observers to provide an overview of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process, the public consultation phase and how to make a submission when the EIS becomes available. OCG representatives also answered general questions from the floor.

The OCG representatives offered to provide the committee with support information to assist the committee to support the community to make submissions on the EIS. The committee also resolved to request the OCG to provide an eight week period for submissions on the EIS due to the significance of the project as well as the current circumstances associated with COVID-19 impacting on community interaction. This request is yet to be confirmed by the OCG. as much as our whole family has.”

The auction features Sir Joh’s personal desk, the briefcase he used daily as premier, hand-signed campaign posters and even Sir Joh’s 1982 Jaguar Saloon.

There is also opportunity to perfect Lady Flo’s pumpkin scone recipe, with a ceramic soup spoon up for auction, with recipe engraved on it.

“This event is extremely rare, and we feel very privileged to honour and support the Bjelke-Petersen family where they have entrusted us to auction over 800 treasured items each with their own story to tell,” Mr Hames said.

One of the headline pieces is a 1969 hand signed postmoon landing world tour luncheon schedule.

The auction ends on tonight at 7pm. Visit www.lloydsauctions.com.au for more.

H2C project update, presented by Project Manager, Chris Matthews including EIS update, submission of the Draft EIS to the OCG by end of July 2020, field investigations, distribution of new project newsletter, sponsorships and donations and upcoming stakeholder engagement opportunities.

The next Lockyer Valley CCC meeting is planned to be held on location to be determined at a later stage. Further meetings will be arranged immediately following the release of the EIS for public consultation to allow for coordination of community support. It is also expected that another workshop will be arranged to provide the community and committee members with a detailed examination of the tunnel and potential impacts.

Details of the next meeting will be advertised. Please reach out to the committee members if you have queries you want raised at the meeting. Members are listed on the Lockyer Valley CCC webpage