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This remarkably original
Bentley 3-Litre was sold new in September
1922 to Oswald J Syme, the youngest
son of David Syme, proprietor of Melbourne's
The Age newspaper. The car arrived
in Melbourne in crated form without
a body. Mr A C Larsen, a garage mechanic
of North Melbourne, was entrusted
with assembling the Bentley, which
he then drove in chassis form to Ballarat,
Victoria for the fitting of the three-seat,
'cloverleaf' style of coachwork that
the car retains to this day. At the
time there were no coachbuilders of
note in Melbourne, hence the trip
to Ballarat. Within a few days of
acquiring the car, Syme competed in
the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria's
1,000-Mile Alpine Contest and the
Australian Motorist report
of the 1st December 1922 records that
he obtained the fastest time in the
Gap Hill Climb Section.
Around 1930 the car was presented
to Miss Lucy Rowe, a sister-in-law
of Syme, who kept it until 1936 when
it was sold following complaints from
Miss Rowe's nonagenarian mother about
open motoring in Melbourne winters.
At this time the Bentley was still
in its original livery of yellow ochre
with black wings. It had been fitted
with a lower back axle ratio and was
still looked after by Mr Larson. The
new owner, a Mr Gatehouse, paid the
princely sum of £95 for the
car and kept it for 12 days before
selling it on to a Mr Boadle. Mr Boadle
kept the Bentley until the 9th July
1942 when it was purchased by the
current custodian's father, a Mr W
F Higgins, of Wangaratta. Mr Higgins
researched the car in exhaustive detail,
discovering all the registration numbers
allocated from 1932 onwards. Specifications
and various minor changes made by
owners over the years are recorded
in his copious notes also. For example:
Miss Rowe found the clutch and brake
pedals too short to reach with her
feet, so 'D' plates were fitted by
Mr Larson to bring them closer. These
remained with the car until 1995.
W F Higgins was a founding member
of the Bentley Drivers' Club of Australia
in 1956 and its first president. Higgins
lived and breathed Bentleys all his
life and did a huge amount for the
movement. He loved and cherished this
particular Bentley, keeping a remarkably
detailed record of all the work carried
out on the car and the journeys undertaken,
which is far too lengthy to reproduce
here. (A copy of Mr Higgins' notes,
which run to approximately 16 pages,
will be supplied with the car).
The Bentley was repainted and re-trimmed
in 1968, and has been well maintained
throughout its 86 years and believed
700,000 miles of road use. In 1989
Mr Higgins passed away and entrusted
the car to his two sons. The Bentley
has remained in loving care and in
1992 was given to the since deceased
John Cresswell who carried out any
necessary refurbishment. However,
it is by no means a 'woodsman's axe',
the running gear and body being largely
original.
It is a testament to the Higgins family
that this early 3-Litre has remained
preserved in such unmolested condition,
and understandably they hope to see
it find a loving home with a Bentley
enthusiast. Offered for sale for the
first time since 1942, chassis number
'142' represents a possibly once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to acquire what is arguably
the most historically significant
Bentley in Australia, being the first
to arrive in this country.
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