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Angus Robertson beat out the other four finalists to win REINSW’s annual Novice Auctioneers Competition.
The 25-year-old from Sydney auction house William Inglis and Sons credits mentors in his field for helping him hone his technique, while the event organisers said the competitors were some of the most skillful up-and-coming auctioneers they’d seen.
Having only heard about the competition a few months ago, Mr Robertson queried a number of connections to see if they’d help him upskill.
“I reached out to at least half a dozen people who were willing to take me around to auctions with them and give me feedback on the heat or practise the script with me for the final. I’ve found that it’s an industry where everyone’s really willing to show you help along the way,” Mr Robertson commented.
The up-and-coming auctioneer came to the trade via his farming roots. Raised on his family cattle property near Scone in NSW’s Hunter Valley, Mr Robertson is a graduate of the Godolphin Flying Start programme — a two-year, full-time leadership and management graduate programme specialising in the thoroughbred industry. He commenced his role at William Inglis and Sons in August 2022, where he currently works as an auctioneer and bloodstock sales consultant.
Having progressed through the first round where luxury items were auctioned, Mr Robertson found himself then supervising the live sale of a four-bedroom rural property in Cootamundra for the final, where an eventual price of $555,000 was achieved.
Other novice auctioneers joining Mr Robertson in the final included Riley Smith from McGrath, Mark Mudford of McCulloch, Kate Sunol from Advantage Property Group, and Daniel Slater with Elders Lifestyle Group.
Compere Ricky Briggs noted that the competition was fierce, and that each new edition proved to unearth more high-quality professionals.
“Despite only two heats taking place this year, the calibre of the competitors was far superior to what we have seen in other years. That’s not to say that the others in previous years were not good, it just means that competitors are now putting in a greater level of training,” Mr Briggs said.
“The top three finalists had only five points in differentiation which goes to show the quality of auctioneers that are actually coming through into the industry now,” he added.
REINSW President Peter Matthews agreed that the annual event is attracting a high standard of entrants.
“We’re seeing competitors get out of their comfort zone to move into a field that not a lot of people get the opportunity to do. They put themselves out there and all of them did an amazing job throughout this competition. I think the future of auctioneering is in their very, very safe hands,” he said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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