'It was his passion': treasure trove of trailblazing MLA goes up for auction

The private collection of the late Canberra politician Bill Wood is going up for auction, the eclectic lots reflecting his 15 years in the ACT Legislative Assembly, and also his early career in Far North Queensland, including what turned out to be a controversial collection of shells.

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The late Bill Wood (inset) and his widow Bev at the Fyshwick showroom of Allbids with the infamous collection of shells from the Torres Strait Islands. Pictures by Karleen Minney, Vikki Wilkes

Mr Wood was a Labor member of the first Assembly in 1989, before retiring in 2004, deciding not to contest the election of that year.

He was a former police minister but probably better known as arts minister. He was also an inveterate - and methodical - collector of all things to do with community groups in Canberra, as well as politics, according to his widow, Bev.

"This was Bill's passion. He was passionate about history and politics, " she said.

"And he haunted all of the fetes and op shops and the bookshops. People knew he was interested, as well, so he had a lot of very rare stuff."

Some items have already been donated to the ACT Heritage Library but almost 1000 lots will also be sold online by allbids.com.au, ranging from a copy of the first Hansard of the first Assembly to a book about the street lights of Manuka.

The first Hansard from the first ACT Legislative Assembly, dated May 11, 1989. Picture by Karleen Minney

"Bill actually categorised it all," Bev said.

"He had all these little cards and he separated everything into 23 different categories for the ACT. So there would be nature, politics, local affairs, reports, clubs, churches - two boxes on churches alone - and sport and so on."

Bill Wood in July, 2004, his final year in the Assembly. He loved being arts minister. Picture by Vikky Wilkes

Born in Toowoomba, Mr Wood and his twin brother, Peter, both served as Labor members in the Queensland state parliament. Bill was the Member for Cook and then the Member for Barwon River. He lost his seat in 1974 and came to Canberra in 1978, returning to work as a teacher.

During his time in Queensland, Mr Wood visited an island in the Torres Strait in 1969 where he was gifted some sea shells by locals. His political opponents took him to task when he mentioned to a newspaper reporter that the shells "many of them just out of the water" had "stunk out" his house for weeks, adding he also did not want to leave the shells behind and offend the islanders.

Some of the exotic shells gifted to Mr Wood in 1969. Picture by Karleen Minney

The exotic shell collection - cleaned and removed of any whiffiness - was displayed in a handmade table in the Woods' loungeroom in Canberra for years, a reminder of his time up north, and the enduring nature of nit-picking politics.

"The story got to the islanders through the political opposition saying, 'Oh, Bill didn't like the shells. He said they were smelly'," Bev remembered.

"So, next time he went to the island, he was confronted by this story. He said, he was able to talk about it [to them okay]. But that's the downside of politics."

Another piece of Queensland political memorabilia in the sale is a wooden letter rack from the Bellevue Hotel in Brisbane. Out-of-town members of parliament would stay at the hotel when parliament was in session. The historic hotel was demolished overnight in 1979, by the order of then premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, despite union green bans and public opposition to its destruction.

Bev Wood with the collection of shells in their handmade table which took pride of place in the family loungeroom in Canberra for years. Picture by Karleen Minney

Also in the sale is a collection of every edition of the Canberra Community News, from 1925 to 1927, with reporters allocated to cover the various progress associations, including for Eastlake, the Causeway and Westlake.

Bev, who is an artist, has included some of the family's collection of art and ceramics, including some of her own work, in the sale.

The arts minister Bill Wood in March, 2004 celebrating the 30th anniversary of the installation of the Civic merry-go-round. Picture by Melissa Stiles

Bev and Bill were childhood sweethearts, together since they were both in year 10 at Toowoomba State High School.

She said he was the reader of the family and was "asking for books" in hospital right up until his death. One of the last books he read, or re-read, was Manning Clark's History of Australia.

Now 88, Bev said getting the collection ready for sale had been a big feat but the process had also brought back wonderful memories of her husband of 65 years.

"A very lovely, kind, beautiful man," she said.

The auction of Bill Wood's estate and other family items will go live on allbids.com.au on Wednesday, November 4. Items will be added weekly until the collection is exhausted.

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