THE private museum of the eccentric Bill Howard was one of Ballarat's best kept secrets.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now it's being opened to the world.
Since he died late last year at age 85, Mr Howard's collection has been inspected with some of the finest pieces to be auctioned this weekend.
His widow Barbara Howard said her husband had hoarded tens of thousands of items over four decades.
"This is just the cream of it. We had a clearing sale and there was huge amounts of stuff there," Ms Howard said.
"The house was full, the sheds were full.
"He wouldn't sell anything, ever. Sometimes he'd say 'I'm selling it all'. Then he'd think about it for a day or two and change his mind."
Born and raised in Ballarat, Mr Howard sailed to England after graduating from Ballarat High School.
It was Mr Howard's art of the tongue that swept Barbara off her feet in the late 1950s when he met her in Fulham, England, as a trainee midwife.
"He could talk and talk and when I was young it was good. He was very adventurous when he was young," Barbara said.
He spent his youthful years globetrotting and they continued their adventures through Europe, giving birth to two children abroad.
"He was eccentric, but he had a very good edge"
It wasn't until the family returned to Ballarat in 1970 that Mr Howard's collecting "disease" took place.
She said the gargantuan task of auctioning his collection had provided some relief to the multiple storage spaces on their property.
"He was eccentric, but he had a very good edge. He paid a lot for his items," Ms Howard said.
"He wasn't generous to himself, he lived in a Spartan way, although he was a very popular man."
After resettling in Ballarat, Mr Howard became a renowned auctioneer and bought the Mid Western Auctions on Main Road, which also served his hunger for the acquisition of weird and wonderful items.
His trademark pulpit, from which he conducted his auctions, and top hat have been made available for auction.
AT A GLANCE
WHAT: Bill Howard private museum auction
WHERE: The Amazing Mill Markets, Ballarat
WHEN: Saturday, July 5, view 8am, auction 9.30am and Sunday, July 6, view 8.30am, auction 10am
david.jeans@fairfaxmedia.com.au