Former volunteer firefighter John England is selling his collection of Aussie motorcycle racing memorabilia and donating a portion to aid the bushfire appeal.
John says his collection of 22 commemorative bottles of Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix port, six Mick Doohan plates, various mirrors, signed prints and collectible toys could be worth as much as $10,000.
“But it’s only worth what someone is prepared to pay,” says the Logan City rider whose Can-Am Spyder we featured in a 2014 article.
John and Rose England’s patriotic Can-Am Spyder and trailerHe is also selling his 1981 Honda Bol d’Or 900, bored out to 1000cc, with handmade exhausts.
John and his wife, Rose, plan to retire this year and hit the road in their caravan, towing their Can-Am Spyder around the country.
“We don’t want this collection gathering dust in storage, so we thought we would sell it,” John says.
“I used to be a volunteer firefighter, so we’d be happy to make a donation of a portion of the sale of this collection.”
“I just want it go to a motorcycle lover who appreciates it.”
He says he would prefer to sell it as one collection and the bike separately.
However, he would also consider splitting it up, preferably in groups such as all the ports or all six commemorative plates honouring Mick’s five consecutive GP titles plus a sixth lap of honour plate.
John, a former Sydney track racer, started collecting when he bought the first Australian GP port for $25 in 1989.
John has been told by the seller of the commemorative port that his first bottle could now be worth as much as $500.
“How that didn’t get drunk I’ll never know,” he laughs.
“It was all bought to drink. I’d usually buy two bottles each year; drink one and keep one.”
The commemorative port line ceased in 2008 and John has one from each year.
He also has a Harley-Davidson-styled port holder with six ports released each year. He says the “gearbox” bottle of port, alone, cost $196.
Harley port carrierMost of the items in his collection come with certificates or letters of authenticity.
If you are interested in buying his collection and helping the bushfire appeal, you can contact John on 0408 880616.
Bushfire appeal
Like many Aussie sports stars and celebrities, two-time Dakar rally winner Toby Price and MotoGP racer Jack Miller are raising money for the bushfire appeal.
Toby is auctioning his starting jersey and pants with proceeds going to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
It is open worldwide, just send in your bid in Australian dollars on his Facebook page or Instagram.
Current highest bid is still $13,001.
Auction closes on 18 January at 5pm (AEST).
If you can’t bid, please donate on this link. So far he has raised $2777.
Jack Miller’s MotoGP helmetAussie MotoGP racer Jack Miller also put his 2018 MotoGP helmet up for auction to raise money for the bushfire crisis.
The auction has now closed and raised $18,000!
Bushfire appeals
There is a host of bushfire appeals you can donate to. See the list below.
Otherwise, we suggest helping local communities by waiting until the emergency has passed, then visiting the areas and spending your money on fuel, food and gifts.
Royal Enfield Australia has announced a five-day “Coastal Tour” departing from Melbourne on 7 March 2020, navigating the east coast to Noosa on 11 March.
The event is open to all Royal Enfield riders for the full ride or partial rides in their local areas. Click here to register.
• Australian Red Cross Disaster Response and Recovery Fund;
• WIRES Emergency Fund for Wildlife;
• Port Macquarie Koala Hospital GoFundMe;
• Bendigo Bank Bushfire Disaster Appeal;
• The South Australian government State Emergency Relief Fund;
• Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park owner Dana Mitchell’s GoFundMe;
• Fire Relief Fund for First Nations Communities GoFundMe;
• Mallacoota Fires Support Fund for East Gippsland on GoFundMe;
• Australian photographer Kara Rosenlund’s koala crisis bushfire recovery GoFundMe;
• Mogo Zoo on the NSW South Coast GoFundMe established by MP Emma Husar;
• South Australian Adelaide Hills Wine Region Fire Appeal GoFundMe;
• A GoFundMe to rebuild the Bargo Dingo Sanctuary in NSW;
• The Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund appeal for fire-affected East Gippsland communities; and
• Zoos Victoria Bushfire Emergency Wildlife Fund.
Prevent appeals scams
To help people looking to donate safely and effectively, the National Bushfire Recovery Agency has published a list of registered charities that accept tax deductible donations and are running bushfire appeals.
The initiative is in response to the difficulty for many in identifying charities and fundraisers with the capacity to deliver relief and whose focus is on bushfire relief or recovery.
People who want to donate to a charity should check the charity’s details on the ACNC Charity Register acnc.gov.au/findacharity. To confirm if their chosen charity has tax deductible status, they can access the ABN link on a charity’s record.
To avoid known scams people should check with the ACCC’s Scamwatch.