Coincidentally the auction was held on the 50th anniversary of New Zealand's worst maritime disaster, when 53 people lost their lives in Wellington Harbour when the inter-island ferry Wahine was wrecked in an extraordinary weather event on Barrett Reef.
The anniversary saw Auckland and many other parts of the country buffeted by winds of up to 200 km an hour, and snow, sleet, tornados and massive power outages. It was without doubt a red letter day ''weather or not ''.
The lavish 140 page catalogue devoted at least 37 pages to the nine works from Dame Kiri's collection and the auction house was rewarded for their extensive coverage of the works.
There were many high points in the in the sale of the nine lots, and not necessarily what one may have expected.
The first Goldie, entitled Tribal Troubles, Tamati Pehiriri - Chieftain of the Rarawa Tribe (Lot 3 ), a late period work of a Maori chief from Northland sold for $775,000, just $25,000.00 short of the low estimate of $800,000 and proved to be the top price on the night.
Another late period Goldie, this time a square format painting of Te Hei A Chiefteness Ngati Raukawa Tribe As Rembrandt Would Have Painted the Maori (Lot 4 ) sold subject to vendor agreement, at $450,000, but also short of the ambitious estimate of $500,000 - $800,000.
Of the three Goldie paintings on offer, Wharekauri Tahuna, A Chieftain of the Arawa Tribe (Lot 5 ) estimated at $700,000 - $1,000,000 had the greatest expectations attached to it because of the full facial moko and the large greenstone hei tiki around the neck, but it too came in just under the low estimate at $625,000, a rather disappointing result for the three important Goldie works.
An important, crisp period painting by our leading war artist, Peter McIntyre of General Sir Bernard Freyberg V.C. (Lot 6 ) sitting back in a campaign chair in the North African Desert sold for $105,000 just below the record price for the artist at auction of $110,000 and exceeding the top estimate by $25,000.
Few Australian works find their way into the auction rooms on this side of the Tasman Sea, but a number of quality works in this catalogue enticed the noted Australian art connoisseur and publicly retired dealer Denis Savill to attend, and he made his presence felt in a number of ''Australian'' ways not often seen in our slightly more sedate auctions.
The spacious Arthur Boyd painting from the mid 1980's, Pulpit Rock with Fire and Black Cockatoo (Lot 7 ) sold very well at $240,000 just creeping over the top estimate of $230,000.
A large format Untitled Aboriginal painting (Lot 8 ) from 1982 by Uta Uta Tjangala. carried a pre-sale estimate of $20,000 - $30,000, and sold for $42,500 surprising many in the room, and creating a record price for a work by an Australian Aboriginal artist in New Zealand, previously set at $27,000 for a Kathleen Petyarre work sold by Art + Object in 2017.
Many expected it would all downhill after lot 11, the final lot in the Dame Kiri Te Kawana Collection, but that was not to be.
A fine large format Don Binney oil of a pied shag perched on a rock looking out across the Tasman Sea, entitled Karuhiruhi Te Henga (Lot 12 ) attracted serious bidding and mild applause when it finally sold for $255,000, just above the low estimate of $250,000.
Sparks flew when a beautifully painted Still Life (Lot 16 ) by Australian Margaret Olley was offered, and our Australian friend as the underbidder was heard to cry out to the auctioneer ''give it to the grey haired man''. He was clearly referring to the successful bidder, although grey haired himself. Estimated at $25,000 - $35,000 it sold for $64,000.
This sort of behaviour is rarely witnessed in auction rooms on this side of the ''ditch'' that separates our two nations.
This was followed by a second Arthur Boyd painting, Fishing on the Shoalhaven with Dog and White Cockatoo, (Lot 17 ) sourced from "Private Collection, Christchurch", but purchased directly from the artist in 1990 clearly bypassing the gallery system. This painting was very similar in style, spirit and subject matter to lot 7, and was the bargain of the night after being knocked down for $110,000, mid-way between the high and low estimates.
Interior of a Maori Whare with La-e Taupo Beyond (Lot 19 ) from 1891 by Louis John Steele was a dark brooding painting of a rare subject. The estimate of $90,000 - $130,000 was easily eclipsed by the hammer price of $190,000.
There was keen competition for Karl Maughan's Rhododendron & Ponga (Lot 21 ), one of his ever popular ''all over florals'' or "A.O.Fs" as referred to by the antique trade. As Karl Maughan's painting go, it could be confused with ''by or buy the yard paintings'' but the inclusion of some sky and distinctive New Zealand tree ferns set this painting apart from others.
It sold for a $82,500, a new record price for the artist at auction (previously set at $42,500) against an estimate of $35,000 - $45,000 and was purchased by a prominent ex national and local politician to mild applause from those in the room.
Towards the end of the sale, there was competition for Craycroft River, Tasmania, (Lot 64 ) by 19th century Australian artist William Charles Piguenit. It sold for $14,750, well above the upper estimate of $6,000.
It was a night of extraordinary events both inside and outside the auction rooms. Inside, the sale resulted in an auction total of around $3.75 million (IBP) while outside, through the North Island of New Zealand, (or to give it it's Maori name Te Ika A Maui, which translates as 'The big fish of Maui'), the storms raged. The big fish was thrashing around again on the 50th anniversary of our greatest maritime disaster reminding us of its presence.
Will similar storms shake this place on the 100th anniversary of this red letter day in our brief history?
* 'Wahine toa' are the Maori words to describe a woman of great power (mana) and strength.
All prices quoted are in $NZ and are hammer prices unless otherwise noted.
