A 1982 Jaguar saloon and a famous scone recipe engraved on a ceramic spoon are among the items up for sale from the estate of Sir Joh and Lady Florence Bjelke-Petersen.
More than 800 items that belonged to the former Queensland premier and his wife will go under the hammer on Tuesday.
Lee Hamer from auction house Lloyds said the sale was a rare opportunity.
“It was a chance meeting and the Bjelke-Petersen family had been thinking about what they’re going to do with the estate,” he said.
“The collection of things, which is such a wide variety, they wanted the public to be able to appreciate them.
“Certainly for Queensland, this is probably the most significant estate auction that we’ve done.”
Mr Bjelke-Petersen was premier from 1968 to 1987 and died in 2005, while Mrs Bjelke-Petersen was a Queensland Senator from 1981 to 1993 and died in 2017.
A spokesman for the family said it was a chance for Queenslanders to own a piece of history.
“We have come to the end of the era of Joh and Flo’s partnership in which they achieved so much for both Queensland and Australia during their political careers,” he said.
“Therefore 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.
“We are sure those who acquire items from this collection will honour and treasure them as much as our whole family has.”
The auction is open online for bidding until August 11, which is Lady Florence’s birthday and also the Queensland Country Women’s Association’s official Scone Day.
Read more here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-07/sir-joh-bjelke-petersen-lady-flo-estate-up-for-auction/12529352
For more from ABC News, click here: https://ab.co/2kxYCZY
You can watch more ABC News content on iview: https://ab.co/2OB7Mk1
Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://ab.co/1svxLVE
Go deeper on our ABC News In-depth channel: https://ab.co/2lNeBn2
You can also like us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/abcnews.au
Or follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/abcnews_au
Or even on Twitter: http://twitter.com/abcnews
