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• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  Collectors' Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia
• Sale Date:
  19 Jun 2016 ~ 3pm
• Lot #:
  55
• Lot Description:
  NSW 100: THE NEW SOUTH WALES NUMERICAL NUMBER PLATES AND RIGHTS TO DISPLAY '100'
  First time offered to the market in 100 years. This rare opportunity to acquire these number plates and the right to display 'NSW100', being such an auspicious part of NSW's motoring heritage, is one certainly not to be missed and one that may not present itself again for at least another generation.(2)
• Notes:
  My first memory of our number plate 'NSW100' was on a grey Austin A40, owned and driven by our grandfather, Dr Harold Joseph Norrie. Harold had this number plate on all the vehicles he had driven'. It is understood that the newly graduated Sydney University doctor bought his first car from a retiring Sydney judge in around 1916. The judge advised him that he should 'hang onto the number plates' as they would stand him in good stead as a new, young doctor. Dr. Norrie went on to become a well-known and respected Macquarie Street physician in endocrinology. He participated within many community based actives over his lifetime including volunteer coastal patrol and St. John's Ambulance where he rose to achieve a Knighthood of the St John's Order of Chivalry of the British Crown. In the early 1920s he was involved in the development of the National Roads and Motorist's Association (NRMA) which not only lobbied government for improved road conditions, but as so, actively benefited the motorist. Norrie is believed to have been just the 13th member of the newly formed NRMA. In 1953, the respected doctor retired and passed his Austin A40 and the number plates to his daughter who soon after purchased a new Volkswagen Beetle and in the early 1960s the car was then replaced by a Hillman Minx station wagon with the plates displayed on both cars. Around 1965, NSW100 was affixed to a new Ford Falcon station wagon and the following year, with inspiration and advice from 'Gelignite' Jack Murray of Redex Trial fame, to 'carry water and a spare tyre' this Ford Falcon, driven by Norrie's daughter, ventured mostly over unsealed roads, from Sydney to Alice Spring via Ularu, (Ayer's Rock). In the early 1970s, the plates were again transferred to a new Toyota Crown station wagon continuing to travel the highways and rough byways of the country. These plates have been driven through every state and territory in Australia. The next car they were to adorn was a Toyota Corolla of the mid 1970s before the ailing health of their proud custodian saw them passed down to the next generation. In recent times they have been registered to a Subaru Forrester. 'NSW 100' has passed through four generations of drivers, three from the same family. They have prompted interest and envy from many admirers and a multitude of cash offers left on notes under the wiper blades. But, regardless of this they have remained an intrinsic part of the Norrie family for over 100 years. Dr Norrie enjoyed these plates immensely. He said they were, 'a human number: 100 was the age you get the telegram from the Queen; the speed everyone wanted to reach; the perfect cricket score... we all want a century and of course 100 per cent'.
• Estimate:
  A$250,000 - 300,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Automobiles & Accessories

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.