I’m his grandson.

After the WW2 though we saw birds of paradise in aviaries on the stations instead of chooks and a sheep on the lawn at Toorak to classify it as a Satation Homestead which he took on a leash to the races dressed in his WW2 Major’s uniform as a thumbs-up to the tax boys. Stuff like this. The Queensland nickname of the Mad Major is still known today referring to him..

There were 150 Dobells eventually, largely sold once by Major Spowers of Sothebys where he was expected to be there but everyone was greeted by an old hag under the stairs who shook everyone’s hand with it covered in axle grease. It was him. The estate sale carried on until October 4th ’72 at sothebys.

Regarding the Picasso, the theft of which is another story because the theif himself is still about and dining off it, it was not donated to the Queensland Gallery. That and a couple of others were “loaned in perpetuity”. A very big difference and a 50 year long court case that only stopped with my father’s death. Every time we got close, Queensland changed the law.

There’s more but not here. An extraordinary bright light we will never see the like of again.