Australia’s largest known collection of militaria pieces is going under the auction hammer following the tragic death of collector, Rod Bellar, last year just two weeks after being diagnosed with Stage 4 brain cancer.
Historians say the collection features more than 10,000 of the rarest items ever to be offered to the public.
It was Rod’s passion for collecting militaria and his mission to preserve history that led to the creation of the remarkable collection over more than half a century.
“I have been actively collecting military items since 1964. I currently hold a Class 1 Dealer’s Licence which gives me the entitlement to deal with all fields of collectible militaria firearms, artillery and mortars,” Rod said prior to his death at the age of 60 in July last year.
“My first ‘hands-on’ handling of a military item was a Nazi incendiary bomb. I was rolling this Nazi bomb through a fire to kill ants when I was caught by my dad. My mum quickly got upset with my dad for finding the bomb and bringing it home.
“My dad served in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and as a young kid, I used to play with all his badges which I almost lost all these badges while playing with them.
“Since then, every birthday I make my wish known for collectibles and at the age of 10, I got my dad to get himself a gun licence which I can tap on his licence to work to my advantage.
“My unusual birthday present from my parents supporting my interest was my first matching number (number 9412) German Karabiner 98k rifle. It is marked to premier German weapon maker bnz and year marked 41 and the gun was used in German Afrika Corps unit.
“On trips to England, I would deliberately take out all my clothes from my luggage and leave such clothing behind in exchange for luggage space for military helmets and relics much to my parents angst and there was one pilot who saw a German air force helmet on my carry bag and said I should be flying Luftwaffe!”
Rod’s passing has meant that his array of amazing icons of history now need to find new custodians.
“We were so fortunate to meet Rod and get to hear his stories about his lifetime collection of militaria before his passing in 2021,” said Lee Hames, Chief Operations Officer for Lloyds Auctioneers and Valuers in Australia.
“We were actually in complete disbelief when we first arrived to inspect the collection as it featured some of the rarest militaria collectables from WWI and WWII that we have ever seen, there is everything from military tanks to firearms, swords, military uniforms, helmets, boots and heavy artillery,” said Mr Hames.
Lloyds say they have had thousands of enquires from all around the world and they expect some fierce bidding battles from passionate people looking to preserve history.
“We have had enquiry all over Europe and Asia on these items all from passionate collectors and militaria enthusiasts just like Rod was, so we are sure that there will be many custodians that will treasure his collectables just as he did throughout his lifetime,” said Mr Hames.
Some pieces from the collection Lloyds are even unsure on how much they are worth purely due to their rarity.
“As we were uncovering the special collection of militaria, we came across some very rare pieces many of which are “one off” and may be worth significant amounts of money.”
“We really hope that museums and libraries and passionate collectors from across the world are successful in securing some of these important pieces of history, so they can be preserved and displayed and educate people for many years into the future,” said Mr Hames.
Items featured across the collection will be sold through 14 separate online auctions which are live now and include tanks, artillery, swords, firearms, helmets, radios, boots, parachutes, military uniforms and much more.
The auctions start closing from this Saturday the 19th of February. If you would like to take a journey back in time and own some significant pieces of military history then head to www.lloydsauctions.com.au where bidding is open online now.
If you would like to see some footage on the collection, then please click here.
Rod’s wife, Amy, now manages a website showcasing Rod’s incredible life of collecting.
“It has always been Rod’s lifetime wish to have a museum and to fulfil his wish, I decided to develop this virtual museum. The virtual museum is designed for the purpose of hosting Rod Bellars’ collection online,” Amy says of the website.
“Whilst getting this virtual museum ready, Rod was admitted to the hospital on June 29, 2021 for brain cancer. Without Rod’s expertise, it is near impossible for me to complete this website. As such, I have decided to upload the introduction page in memory of Rod.”
The website – a labour of love for Rod and Amy – is well worth a look. Click here to pay them a visit.
