A fundraising auction held in Invercargill last night raised thousands of dollars for St John Ambulance's new Southland district headquarters, with local Harcourts auctioneer Daniel Pengelly keeping the crowd entertained and the bids climbing throughout the evening.
The event drew a mix of seasoned auction-goers and self-confessed first-timers — with Pengelly's informal poll of the room revealing more than a few attendees were primarily there for the sausages.
Pengelly, volunteering his time for the cause, set the tone early. After explaining that some items carried reserve prices, he assured the crowd his signature sale signal would be a slap on his own thigh — not theirs. "There's a few ladies getting surprised by that," he quipped. "It's okay. Just my own thigh. You're quite safe."
The evening kicked off with a prize draw for a Lego set, won by Layla Wolf, before moving into the main auction. Bidding was competitive from the start. A solid wood coffee table, valued at $60, opened at $100 and eventually sold for $500 after Pengelly made the case that everyone needed somewhere to put a mid-afternoon coffee. A Sherwood dinner set also attracted strong interest, with Pengelly gently suggesting one bidder could use the upgrade.
The night's most spirited moment came during bidding for a children's item, where the crowd's generosity shone through in true Southland fashion. The bidding climbed from $1,350 to $1,705, with Wayne Hill, Travis from Harcourts Invercargill, and other local businesses adding contributions along the way. "Look at those children, they need a home!" Pengelly urged — and the room responded, with Lisa and her family taking home the winning bid of $1,705.
St John Invercargill operations manager Cary Grant said work on the old Clyde and Liddell Streets building is well underway, with asbestos removal taking place this week ahead of demolition.
The new multi-million dollar facility has been years in the planning and has been designed specifically with ambulance services in mind — giving staff and volunteers somewhere to properly regroup, relax, and recharge after busy shifts. It will also serve as a base for multiple St John stations across the district, with staff from as far away as Queenstown able to make use of the space.
St John Invercargill has long shared its current premises with Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), but both teams have outgrown the arrangement. The new build was made possible in part thanks to a $1 million donation from the late Invercargill businessman Louis Crimp, which the organisation invested before purchasing the new section in December 2022.
The Mitre 10 Mega-gifted playhouse, built by the well-known "Easy As Stan," has been a centrepiece of the local fundraising campaign for weeks.