Is author’s missing Jaguar in Waikato?
It’s a mystery that could have come from the pen of New Zealand’s “Queen of Crime”, and if your name is J Sullivan you might just be able to solve it.
That’s because the hunt for the Jaguar Mark V Drophead Coupe, once owned by famous mystery author Dame Ngaio Marsh, might just end in Waikato.
Richard Waugh, author of Classic Jaguars in New Zealand, has joined forces with the Dame Ngaio Marsh Trust to try and track down the car which Marsh took ownership of in 1950.
“We’ve established it was still around in the 90s,” he said.
“We think it was bought from a Christchurch owner in the mid-90s. Beyond that, the trail goes cold.”
Waugh said his investigation had uncovered one crucial clue – he believes it was acquired by someone from Waikato, named J Sullivan.
He said the trust takes care of Marsh’s house, her “lovely garden” and that they would love to “arrange a special visit for the car”.
He said it’s a hunt that has seen them search both Australia and the United Kingdom, but they were zeroing in on Waikato now – and hope someone either knows where the car is, or where the mysterious J Sullivan may be.
“It could be that the car is still in Waikato, which would make a great story if found,” he said.
He said Marsh originally took ownership of the Jaguar in 1950 in England, before shipping it back to New Zealand in 1951.
Marsh died in Christchurch 42 years ago, at the age of 86.
In her time, she was among the best-known New Zealanders in the world, a cultural icon sought out for her opinions by touring chroniclers such as Alan Whicker and JB Priestley, one of the four so-called queens of crime writing and a theatre director who single-handedly revived Shakespeare in this country.
– If you know J Sullivan, or the whereabouts of the car, please contact news@ waikatotimes.co.nz