Kemenyek: The late Ron Kessing's Velocette parts auction......DQ auctions Kesso's Shed....

I'd known Ron Kessing for a long time...in fact he only lived 1.3 km from me...sadly he passed on around 2000 aged in his early 80's.
In later years I always rode one of my Velocettes past his house on the way home from a ride...just to tantalise him with the unique sound a Velocette always makes from its exhaust...
He was a Velocette man through and through...rode them as a young man, raced them...he bought a Mk.7 KTT Velocette new in 1938, won the Senior Victory TT at the Easter Bathurst races in 1946 on the ex works Velocette 1935 500cc dog-kennel SOHC, nicknamed here in Australia, "The Monster".

He ran several motorcycle shops...Bain and Kessing being one of them,
The photograph below is in 1948, a neighbour strides by and Ron, in overalls walks to his 1936 Nash which was for sale ( see the notice on the windscreen).

Bain and Kessing letterheaded paper of the time...

He had petrol stations, then a taxi cab that two 1950's Australian Continental Circus riders, Bob Brown and Alan Burt, drove for him when they returned from Europe to earn additional money for the trip back the following year and to buy new AJS/Matchless racers......

Ron, in overalls, LtoR, Don Wilson, Alan Burt, Bob Brown with the MSS they rode in the 1954 24 hour production race at Mt.Druitt race circuit.
He had several sheds on his property and despite visiting him many times he never showed me into them...
I always wondered if there were any "Velocette gems" still there so to speak.....
Following the death of Ron's widow, Jean about a year ago the family rented the house out and the sheds remained locked up...The house was sold at Easter, but I was at the big Velocette themed weekend at Broadford in Victoria so didn't "sticky beak" at the house auction.
Then a phone call from the family, the house settlement was imminent, they needed to clear his sheds...was I prepared to auction the contents as this was a quick way to clear them out..?
I agreed, wondering if it would be like "opening Pandora's box or just a pile of shit"...
Well initially it looked like the latter....

There appeared to be Velocette LE's and Honda "Postie" bikes everywhere blocking the floor ( The Australian Postal service uses modified Honda 90's etc to deliver mail).

It took us some 4 days to clear the "rubbish", filling 3 builders dumpsters/skips.
Following the auction there was still a 4th larger skip used and a scrap metal dealer filled is 3 ton truck...!

But as we closed towards the action date it became obvious that it was "Pandora's box"....Velocette parts everywhere, including KTT bevel gears, main bearings, cams even a new set seals for the rear oleos on the Mk.8 KTT... "gold dust"...

Wooden casting patterns for pistons, used LE parts everywhere, four LE's, five Postie Hondas and Yamahas, magnetos and parts, generators, MAC/MOV heads, barrels, crankcases, Amal carbs/parts.....further on is the list of the sale with prices realised in AUD$.

The prices realised were so incredibly low, but at an unreserved at short notice auction you take what comes. The family on the whole were pleased with the result..the sheds cleared, skips paid for and a little in the till...

Valve seat cutters and stones..

Tooling...

The lathe and tooling sold for $5... the pedestal drill for $25.

Ten rows of ten tins full of Velo and some other parts...100 tins in all...

Cast JAP head with a Charlie Ogden castup Amal mk.1 GP carb....note small lugs on the body.

Due to the short notice we had to advertise it expected numbers were down with some 40 people registered to bid....and there were "bargains galore".... much sold for $5 up to $80....