A black forest bear greets all who passed over the threshold on the hunt through a treasure-trove of glories from the near and ancient past.
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Standing over five feet and bought from Czechoslovakia, the bear has long been one of John and Barbara Wigg's prized possessions.
The honour of that title is not to be taken lightly, considering the enormity of their collection that includes a 16th-century hand-held blunderbuss pistol and about 10 separate Pro Hart works, to name just a few.
Collected over the past half-century in the home of John and Barbara Wigg, it will all be sold at auction on Sunday.
"It's time for us to downsize," Mrs Wigg said.
"There's just the two of us rattling around here with just a cat and a dog, it's time," Mr Wigg reiterated.
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Until 2013, the couple owned and operated the Edward Street antique store, but as of 2015 John Wigg Antiques has found a home in the Neslo Arcarde.
In 50 years, the Wiggs say they have visited "just about everywhere" in the world, in pursuit of their passion.
Most notably, many treasures were found in the wake of Sukarno's Indonesia, following the eradication of the Dutch population.
"The Dutch abandoned everything they could not carry, and so there were mansions filled with things. I'd go through the markets and find all sorts of things there," Mr Wigg said.
Having built their Mediterranean-style home in Kooringal to best house their growing collection, now after half a century, they have made the heavy decision to part ways.
Nothing will stay in their hands, including the house itself. Even the walls of their ornate home are themselves antiques, having been built from the granite that once housed Bendigo's colonial law courts.
The couple long ago obtained their limit, but they say they have not yet exhausted their appetite for collecting.
"We just about own everything we ever wanted," Mrs Wigg said.
"There's been steam engines, horse-drawn carriages, at one point I had 13 horse-drawn hearses, most people have never even seen one and here I was with 13," Mr Wigg said.