Renowned antique dealer retires

31/3/2010

Evan’s Antiques has been an institution in Oamaru for nearly half a century.

But after 45 years, retirement is beckoning for owner Evan Blair (1951-55) and, befitting the man himself, the Thames St shop quietly closed last Friday, with little fuss or fanfare.

Evan Blair

Evan is now preparing for an auction of his stock of antique furniture, china, jewellery, art and collectables, along with shop fittings and furniture parts and fittings. It will be held at the Scottish Hall on April 11th.

Auctioneer Ron Proctor, who described Evan as one of New Zealand’s foremost antique dealers, said it was a privilege to conduct the auction and he expected there would be ‘‘an awful lot of interest’’ in it’’.

‘‘It’s going to be a huge auction,’’ Mr Proctor said.

Evan’s interest in antiques stemmed from his days at Otago Boys’. Even at that young age he used to ‘‘haunt’’ the auction rooms and a lot of his knowledge was gleaned from those early experiences.

He started his business in Oamaru, firstly in the building on the corner of Eden and Thames Streets, and then in Tees Street, before moving to his current premises in 1969.

‘‘I thought I’d done well when I had been 25 years in business. Suddenly, it’s 45 years,’’ Evan, a former teacher, said yesterday.

While he had mixed feelings about closing, Evan said he might as well enjoy retirement while he was in good health. He has a holiday home in the Maniototo and was looking forward to having more freedom.

He says he will miss the contact with people — he has had repeat customers from throughout New Zealand — but said he might still ‘‘carry on dabbling just a wee bit’’ as he had a ‘‘fairly good idea’’ of what some of his clients wanted.

To be a successful antique dealer, knowledge and passion were needed.

‘‘A lot of it is a feel for things,’’ he said.

He likened the forthcoming auction to shifting house and having a garage sale.

‘‘The stuff’s got to go.’’