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Pinched from ozbiker.org
A member of a the Hell's Angels motorcycle club came to within $20,000 of
buying the Mickleham home of the late Joe and Maria Korp yesterday.
The almost mint-condition five-bedroom home on two hectares was eventually
auctioned off for $970,000 to a man dressed like Johnny Cash — black shirt,
black pants and a shy smile for the friendly applause that came up as he went
inside to sign the papers.
More than 200 people gathered in the front yard — where Joe Korp's ashes were
recently sprinkled — to watch the sale. With only four people bidding, the crowd
was fleshed out with a strong contingent from the local Portuguese community —
and a hearty selection of the curious who brought along their kids for a novel
day out.
As auctioneer Jason Sassine described the sale of the property as a fabulous
opportunity, a dozen children played "king of the castle" on a rockpile at the
back of the crowd, with one tyke running amok with a battery-powered
machine-gun, gleefully shooting anybody looking his way.
The bidding began at $500,000 and then moved up in lots of $50,000 — mainly
between the man in black and a Chanel-styled woman standing shyly at a pillar.
Mr Sassine had to remind the woman several times that she needed to make her
bids more clearly.
The biker was standing with his mates away from the main crowd, not far from
where their Harley-Davidsons were parked on the lawn. He entered the bidding at
$700,000, pulling out at $950,000, by which time the bids were coming in $5000
increments.
The man in black made no statement and was chauffeured out of the yard and down
to his car to avoid waiting journalists.
However, Maria Korp's cousin, Maria Vieira, was on hand to say she hoped the
sale might bring closure to the saga known as "the mum in the boot case". She
said the sale price was "terrible" because the property was reportedly valued at
more than $1 million and that "Maria had worked 18 hours a day to make this
dream come true."
