Art collectors spent over $300,000 buying up a third of the Koula Collection which was auctioned off at Baycourt.
Over 100 pieces from the collection, A Lifetime of Collecting, were sold on Monday night with many meeting well above the reserve price, while others sold below estimates.
A Michael Ponder image, Georgina, was thought to fetch between $4000 and $6000, sold for $3250.
So Far Away painted by Suan Harrison-Tustain sold for just $6000 but was thought to get $9000 and $15,000.
Three paintings by Raymond Ching collectively sold for $36,000.
They fell in love and were married three months later.
The next 52 years of married life took the couple to many countries in a full life well lived, during which they collected a lot of treasures along the way.
After Mr Vellinga retired in 1976 the couple came to New Zealand on a holiday. They moved to the Bay in 1977, buying a house in Whakamara, and never left.