Unmasking the Truth Behind the 'Crouch Combo' Sets: A Tale of Deception and Revelation.

  Contrary to popular belief, the 'Crouch Combo' sets were not crafted by the Crouch Manufacturing Company in Dunolly, Victoria.

Our investigation reveals they were organised privately in the early 1990s. In an exclusive interview with the Australian Reel Collectors Association (ARCA), Jack Crouch Jr. clarified the misrepresentation of the 'Crouch Combo' set. This set, featuring a hexagonal box, a dark blue plastic rod tube, the renowned Crouch 77 fishing reel, and a meticulously crafted split cane fishing rod, first appeared on eBay in 2009. At an ARCA assembly in 2013, Jack Crouch Jr. was surprised by an eBay listing of a 'Crouch Combo' set. He stated,"We did not produce this," sparking an investigation into the origin of these ten individually numbered sets, each with a split cane rod, a Crouch 77 reel, and an intricately designed hexagonal box.

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  Our investigation led us to a group of collectors who acquired the 'Crouch Combo' sets from an individual in Canterbury. They provided irrefutable evidence, unraveling the clandestine production process and the numbering of each set.

The exposé identifies the mastermind as a former fishing reel collector in Canterbury, Melbourne, who fabricated these sets in a cover-up scheme. This revelation, highlighting deception, will be published on ReeLpedia®.

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ARCA is committed to authenticity, presenting factual information about Australian-made angling equipment. This narrative reshapes our understanding of the 'Crouch Combo' sets and the deception surrounding their origin.

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The Facts Behind the Crouch Combo Set.

  The Crouch Combo Sets, numbered 1 to 10, were assembled by Barry Wright, a former collector from Melbourne. Wright acquired ten original reels from Arthur Crouch, son of Jack Crouch Sr. Each set included a numbered Crouch 77 reel, a split cane rod marked "Built by J. T. Crouch & Sons, Dunolly, Vic A.C." with its specific number, a blue plastic tube, and a handmade hexagonal box with a poorly copied image of the original Crouch 77 box label.  Although the rods in the Combo Sets were produced by Melbourne rod maker J. M. Turville, Wright falsely numbered each item to create the illusion of "originality." He also matched these numbers on the hexagonal boxes. The decals on the Turville rods misleadingly read “Built By J. T. Crouch & Sons Dunolly, Vic. AC" along with individual numbers, even though the Crouch factory never manufactured fishing rods.

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​ In late 2009, during a gathering at Richard Gully’s home, Wright admitted to numbering the Combo Sets after one, marked A C 7/10 and owned by Peter Jowett, sold for $1,605 at an eBay auction. Wright appeared anxious when it was mentioned that the buyer was a police officer. Notably, Wright had originally sold the set to Jowett for $350.

​  These sets were not professionally manufactured but were instead assembled by Wright using original items to give the appearance of limited editions from the Crouch factory, which closed in 1968. Peter Jowett, Wayne Fulton, Ian Davies, Richard Gully, and three other individuals (who chose not to disclose their identities) confirmed Wright's actions. Wright even created a document, allegedly signed by Arthur Crouch, to falsely authenticate the sets’ originality. Arthur Crouch, who was an administrative assistant at the Dunolly factory, had no qualifications in engineering or metal trades.

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Collectors should be aware of the historical context of items and strive to preserve accurate facts for future archives.

Below are images of a Crouch No. 9 Combo Set, including the document Wright provided to the buyer.