Famous Collingwood coach has collectibles for auction

Items belonging to the legendary Collingwood player and coach Jock McHale will be a highlight of E.J. Ainger’s special sale from noon Sunday April 6 at 433 Bridge Road, Richmond.

Born in Sydney, McHale moved to Melbourne as a child where he attended the Christian Brothers College in East Melbourne before leaving school to work at the nearby McCracken Brewery (later bought out by Carlton United Breweries).

At the same time, he joined Australian Rules football club Coburg, where he immediately impressed and was spotted by Collingwood.

McHale made his VFL debut in 1903 and played 261 games for Collingwood (and represented Victoria) before coaching his beloved club for 713 games.

In that time, he amassed 466 wins and a league record eight premierships.

Included among McHale’s auction items are several paintings including Robert Richmond Campbell’s (1902-1972) The Spit – Middle Harbour and Roland Shakespeare Wakelin’s (1887-1971) St Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne from Yarra.

The auction includes notable French palisander bedroom suite and a nine-piece palisander dining room suite, all designed by the iconic Louis Marjorelle (1859-1926).

Marjorelle belonged to a group of artists, architects, art critics and industrialists whose aim was to ensure a high standard of quality work in French decorative arts and earned his worldwide reputation for his art nouveau and art deco styles.

Inspired and influenced by colleagues, Marjorelle embellished his pieces with inlays and distinct metal work.

As one of the founding members of Ecole de Nancy in Lorraine, after 1901 this school lent its name to his unique and most famous design and he achieved international recognition after being displayed at the Musée de l’école de Nancy in Nancy. 

Today, a large collection of his works can be seen at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

High quality silver items from several sources are included in the auction.

Some are from the Shaw estate, owners of the 16^th floor prestigious Domain Park apartment – although much of the collection was bequested to the National Gallery of Victoria.

Among the items for sale is silver purchased in England, many with original receipts.

A lifetime collection of silver, including works by Hester Bateman (1708-1794), is featured. Bateman was a London silversmith who specialised in  neo classical style household silverware.

Other silver items are from Pharaoh’s Antiques in Melbourne, which was run by Douglas Ball and Neville Fletcher, and was famed during the 1980s for its opulent offerings.

Another interesting item from Pharaoh’s is the Kingwood and Circassia twin pedestal German desk sourced from the 1895 contents sale of the Count Hohenthal Estate in Melbourne.

The auction also contains a Merric Boyd earthenware koala jug.