AUCTION’S LURE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26233, 17 August 1946, Page 8

AUCTION’S LURE

THOUSAND AT SALE CARS AND A PIANO About a thousand citizens congregated yesterday at mid-day at a wellpublicised motor auction held in Carroll ‘street. Many of them went along to hear Julian Lee play a piano which was submitted for sale. More went to see what manner of sale could justify so much advertising. Others went along because it is seldom enough that an open invitation is issued to hire a taxi at someone else’s expense. The remainder —and since the entire offering was disposed of these must have amounted to more than several —went to buy a car, or a piano, as the case may be. Whether those included in all the categories mentioned, except the last, considered the effort well spent is not to be conjectured, but the 26 vehicles offered were easily disposed of for a total of £4980 10s. Groomed like racehorses about to make their appearance in glittering cup company, the cars were paraded, one by one, walked, trotted, and cantered round a specially-provided runway, and prospective purchasers were at liberty to stroke their withers, inspect their teeth, and listen in to their heart beats. And one by one, as their paces were shown, cars which may well in their days have knocked down incautious pedestrians, were themselves knocked down to new owners. An intending purchaser whose bid fell more flat than any tyre remarked pensively when it was over: Weil, it was good, clean fun, anyway.