One month after John Wayne Millwood was sentenced to four years’ jail for child sex offences in 2016, he was sent a letter.
Addressed to him at the Risdon prison complex, it came from prominent Hobart fine art dealer Nevin Hurst.
“Have left a message on Woofie’s answering machine to tell him to bring whatever Glovers he can,” it reads.
A week later, Evandale antique dealer Peter Woolf – nicknamed ‘Woofie’ – arrived at Mr Hurst’s Masterpiece Fine Art Gallery with a collection of pieces, but none were by the renowned John Glover.
Instead, according to another letter from Mr Hurst, he brought down two pieces by Scottish landscape artist Thomas Swift Hutton, and one each by colonial artists Thomas Wainewright, William Duke and John Skinner Prout.
At one stage, Mr Hurst joked in a letter that Mr Woolf was having trouble fitting all the artworks in his Mercedes to transport down to his gallery.
The pieces originated from Millwood’s vast colonial art collection stored in Launceston, once numbering almost 200 pieces.
On the day of Millwood’s sentencing, they were among the millions of dollars worth of assets that were divested via companies and trusts controlled by his daughter, and his former partner.
That same day, his victim – who Millwood abused for six years in the 1980s – alerted the court that a civil compensation claim would be made.
This ultimately totalled more than $6 million, but Millwood later declared bankruptcy and has not paid a cent.
In a Federal Court bankruptcy hearing this week, the letters from Mr Hurst have been used as evidence to allege that Millwood – while in prison – was negotiating the sale of his former colonial art collection.
‘Mr Millwood has advised by phone…’
Millwood denied communicating with Mr Hurst from prison, and told the court he could not send letters regarding business dealings.
He said the paintings had been transferred to his daughter when he was sentenced to jail, so it was a matter for her.
But one month after his sentencing, system printouts from Mr Hurst’s gallery — read out to the court — make reference to phone contact.
“Mr Millwood has advised by phone that he wishes to secure $25,000 net for the painting,” one reads.
Another reads identically, but with an $8,000 net asking price.
After this, Mr Hurst — who passed away in April this year — continues to send letters to Millwood in prison, becoming frustrated with negotiations.
“Quite frankly if you are going to be too hard, I will just walk away as I am not prepared to be your long-term banker or your instrument,” a letter reads.
“Let’s … get down to the real issue of satisfying your financial needs through transparent dealings with your trusted and loyal associate WM Hurst.”
That same month, Millwood allegedly signs a document authorising Mr Hurst’s gallery to create a recipient tax invoice on behalf of his superannuation fund. The document was read to the court.
Millwood told the court he did not know how his signature ended up on the document.
“Has my signature been put on there by other means? I don’t know, there’s no way I can sign that in prison,” he said.
Throughout 2017, the letters from Mr Hurst continued to be sent, another referencing a letter that Millwood sent in March authorising a $7,000 sale.
Mr Hurst requested more from Millwood.
“What I’d give for a good Piguenit, or Glover oil. Being without them is akin to a carnivore without raw flesh, grr grr gnash chomp,” a letter reads, which was read to the court.
“Do please look in the meat safe for me, wonder what’s still there.”
Millwood told the court he was not part of the negotiations.
“I wasn’t organising this,” he said.
‘I don’t know’: Millwood denies knowledge of sales
A piece, Man Ferns by John Skinner Prout, sold at Mr Hurst’s gallery for $10,000 in May 2018.
A printout reads: “Painting delivered into stock by Peter Woolf on behalf of John Millwood”.
A letter – 13 months after he was jailed – also references that Millwood had been able to communicate with Mr Hurst by mail, requesting a $40,000 sale price for a Thomas Bock colonial portrait.
Another sales note shows that two portraits by English artist Frederick Strange sold for $22,000 while Millwood was in jail, with a cheque deposited into Millwood’s account.
Millwood continued to deny this in court, when questioned by counsel assisting the bankruptcy trustee, Oliver Sheahan.
Sheahan: Is it fair to characterise what’s going on, is that Mr Hurst is acting on your instructions to sell or get away all of your artwork whilst you’re in prison?
Millwood: Not at all.
Sheahan: How can you explain what Mr Hurst was talking about?
Millwood: I haven’t seen any of this communication, so whether he was speaking to [my daughter] or [my partner] or Mr Woolf, I just don’t know. I certainly wasn’t communicating with Mr Hurst, not that I’m aware.
Sheahan: I asked if you can explain to the court — and please do it in your words — what Mr Hurst was doing insofar as it relates to your artwork whilst you were in jail?
Millwood: I don’t know.
Millwood’s daughter got proceeds from artwork sales
Millwood’s daughter, Sarah Millwood, also gave evidence to the court.
She confirmed that she had received proceeds from her father’s superannuation fund for the sale of artwork.
She also confirmed she had received proceeds from sales of artwork from Mr Hurst’s gallery.
Ms Millwood told the court that her father was writing letters to Mr Hurst from jail.
The art sales follow evidence in the Federal Court of the sale of property and the divestment of shares and other assets when Millwood was jailed.
He told the court it was because he wanted to get his affairs in order, believing he would die in prison — not to shield his assets from his victim.
The divestments were actioned on December 7, 2016, but his superannuation fund remained.
In April 2018, Millwood’s former partner emailed his accountant, Ken Davey, attaching an ABC article foreshadowing legislative changes that could give victims access to the super funds of their abusers.
Ten days later, a further series of property sales were arranged from the super fund, the court heard.
Mr Davey said he was only acting on instructions.
Among the transactions was the transfer of $67,000 to Sarah Millwood, who had already received, via entities she controlled, over a million dollars worth of property and artwork in the initial divestment, the court heard.
This latest transfer was payment for her business administration work as director of Milsone, the trustee of Millwood Superannuation Fund.
The rate was set at $2,750 an hour, the court heard.
The bankruptcy hearing continues.
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