Charlotte Varcoe
AFTER more than four decades in the business, Kevin McVilly will close the doors of his Macs Auctions for the final time after the last auction is held this Sunday.
Mr McVilly and his late wife Bep began the business in 1977 after an extensive career as a furniture salesperson.
The passionate owner described his long-lasting career as a “good innings”.
Prior to starting the auction business, Mr McVilly had been managing a furniture company when it began selling-off assets.
He said it was then he discussed with Bep whether they should “have a go” at running their own similar business.
“We started off having auctions with a little bit of secondhand and antique furniture,” Mr McVilly said.
“As things developed we soon outgrew the original premises.”
During one stage of his business career, Mr McVilly said his business was managing up to five different entities throughout Mount Gambier.
“Looking back now I wonder how we managed that and how we did it,” he said.
“I find it quite interesting that we were able to do so.”
Settling into the well-known Commercial Street address, Mr McVilly and his staff used the two auction rooms available for a number of years with an ongoing, large client base.
“This address was our fifth location for the business,” Mr McVilly said.
“Over the years we kept outgrowing different areas and moving around but it has been a great venue.”
Closing the business due to age and health concerns, the long-serving businessman said he was grateful for the ongoing support.
“Over the years we have made some incredible contacts and some wonderful friends,” Mr McVilly said.
“We have also had a very strong, loyal customer base including people who would travel over the border and within a 100-mile radius.”
Despite decades of success, Mr McVilly said the past two years have been difficult for the business with the Covid-19 pandemic not allowing regular auctions.
“When we first started we would hold auctions every week, then it moved to fortnightly, then monthly,” he said.
“We did not host an auction throughout Covid but we were able to host an outdoor auction in December which was successful.
“It was held in the car park but we were not able to have any of the antique furniture out there so we were still limited.”
Over the decades, Mr McVilly has sold a number of unique and interesting items including a wooden prosthetic leg.
However, it was a small table on which Princess Diana signed a declaration that stood out to him the most.
“I remember selling the table and it was only a small table,” Mr McVilly said.
“It sold for close to $7000 and the table itself was probably not worth near that amount but it was the significance of it which made it so expensive.”
He said over the years of collecting and selling it remained fascinating to him what people and their families would collect.
“We have had some fabulous furniture come through over the years from big homesteads and there were also some rarities as well,” he said.
“We didn’t just sell furniture, we also sold collector items such as stamps, tea sets and more.”
Expecting about 300 client registrations for the final auction, Mr McVilly said it was a “bittersweet” ending to his career.
“It is unfortunate that nobody has been able to take over the business and because of that we will be selling as much as we can,” he said.
“There will probably be many people who have been coming to the auction for almost 40-years and it is bittersweet but I think we have had a good innings.”
The final auction will be held at the Commercial Street shop on Sunday beginning from 10.30am with viewings available tomorrow from 1pm until 4pm or from 9am on the day.
